What salary do you need to live in Manchester, NH?

Manchester housing costs at a glance

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Manchester-Nashua, NH metro at $1,296 for a one-bedroom, $1,722 for a two-bedroom and $1,835 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $426 a month, and the third bedroom another $113.

Buying is the other half of the housing picture: owners put the median home in Manchester-Nashua, NH at $421,100. That works out to 4.1× the local median household income of $103,545, a mid-range ratio.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 105.7 here. Above 100 means a paycheck stretches less: $100,000 in Manchester has the buying power of roughly $94,646 at national average prices.

Income needed for each grade in Manchester

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $67,000 for Tight, $135,000 for Okay and $272,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $137,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Reaching Royal takes $955,000 — 3.5× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

Nothing here is a separate rule of thumb; plug any of these incomes into the calculator with two bedrooms and Manchester shows the matching grade.

What different incomes look like in Manchester

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 33 and a three-bedroom 27, both Tight; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

In Manchester the table's top salary of $150,000 stops at Okay (48) for two bedrooms; Comfortable starts higher, at $272,000.

Manchester on the national list

Ranked against all 387 metros, Manchester sits 25th on overall price level and 33rd on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 67th.

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL ($1,723) and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL ($1,721) bracket Manchester on two-bedroom rent.

Manchester in a New Hampshire context

Compared with New Hampshire as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Manchester is 5% higher ($1,722 vs. $1,642) and the median home is 5% higher ($421,100 vs. $402,500).

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $251,000, so Manchester needs $21,000 more than New Hampshire overall.

New Hampshire has only one other metro in the data, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, so the closest matches elsewhere, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA, are included too.

Does the typical Manchester income clear the bar?

A household at the Manchester median income of $103,545 would see a two-bedroom score of 38 — Tight — with rent at 20% of income. That falls $168,455 short of the $272,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. Statewide, the New Hampshire median household ($99,031) grades Tight on the state's own medians. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.