145,314
Small businesses
New Hampshire had 145,314 small businesses in the SBA's 2025 profile, representing 99.0% of businesses in the state.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 profile using 2022 Census dataNEW HAMPSHIRE FACT SHEET
New Hampshire maker, small business and outdoor recreation statistics
A practical collection of recent, citable figures for writers, local organizations, and businesses telling the story of New Hampshire-made work and the places that inspire it.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Each statistic links to its named source and reporting period.
THE SHORT VERSION
A state built on small businesses and time outdoors.
New Hampshire's local economy is shaped by independent businesses, practical skills, outdoor traditions, and the visitors who come here to experience all of it. The figures below bring those threads together without treating every maker, shop, or destination as the same thing.
Dccrafting assembled this page as a public reference for anyone writing about New Hampshire-made goods, local business, outdoor culture, or the visitor economy.
SMALL BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
Independent work is part of the fabric here.
309,420
People employed by small businesses
Small businesses employed 309,420 people, or 50.3% of New Hampshire employees, in the SBA's 2025 profile.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 profile using 2022 Census data26,050
Small businesses across three maker-adjacent sectors
The SBA counted 13,958 businesses in other services, 8,528 in arts, entertainment and recreation, and 3,564 in manufacturing.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 profile using 2022 Census dataOUTDOOR RECREATION ECONOMY
The places people return to also support real work.
$4.22B
Outdoor recreation value added
Outdoor recreation contributed $4.218 billion in value added to New Hampshire's economy in 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data published March 2026$1.59B
Conventional outdoor recreation value added
The BEA attributed $1.587 billion in 2024 value added to conventional outdoor recreation activities in New Hampshire.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data published March 202633,313
Outdoor recreation jobs
Outdoor recreation supported 33,313 New Hampshire jobs in 2024, equal to 4.6% of the state's wage and salary employment.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data published March 20263.5%
Of New Hampshire GDP
Outdoor recreation accounted for 3.5% of New Hampshire's gross domestic product in 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data published March 2026$1.81B
Outdoor recreation compensation
Outdoor recreation generated $1.813 billion in compensation in New Hampshire in 2024, equal to 2.7% of statewide compensation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data published March 2026$761M
Snow activities value added
Snow activities generated $760.7 million in New Hampshire value added in 2024, showing the economic reach of a season central to the state.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data published March 2026VISITOR ECONOMY
$7.9B
Visitor spending in New Hampshire
New Hampshire's hospitality and tourism industry welcomes more than 14.9 million visitors and generates an average of $7.9 billion in total spending, according to the state's 2026 industry overview. That spending reaches retail, food service, local transportation and gas, accommodations, and arts, entertainment and recreation.
Source: Visit New Hampshire, 2026 industry overviewSOURCES AND METHOD
How to use these figures.
This is a roundup, not a single survey. The small-business figures come from the SBA Office of Advocacy's 2025 New Hampshire profile, which draws on Census data. Outdoor-recreation figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis tables for 2024. Visitor figures are reported in Visit New Hampshire's 2026 industry overview.
Figures describe different parts of the state economy and should not be added together. Use the linked source for its definitions, tables, and full methodology.
Cite this page
Dccrafting. “New Hampshire Maker, Small Business and Outdoor Recreation Statistics.” Updated October 21, 2026. Accessed [date].