Rockingham County, New Hampshire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rockingham County
U.S. county
Aerial view of Portsmouth
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Founded	1769
Named for	Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Seat	Brentwood
Largest town	Derry
Area
• Total	795.2 sq mi (2,060 km2)
• Land	695.4 sq mi (1,801 km2)
• Water	99.9 sq mi (259 km2)  12.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	314,176
• Estimate  (2022)	319,424
• Density	395.091/sq mi (152.545/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd

Rockingham County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 314,176, making it New Hampshire's second-most populous county. The county seat is Brentwood. Rockingham County is part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area and the greater Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area. Per the 2020 census, it was New Hampshire's fastest growing county from 2010 to 2020.

As of 2014–2018 estimates from the American Community Survey, Rockingham County was the fourth- wealthiest county in New England, with a median household income of $90,429.

History

The area that today is Rockingham County was first settled by Europeans moving north from the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts as early as 1623. The government was linked tightly with Massachusetts until New Hampshire became a separate colony in 1679, but counties were not introduced until 1769.

Rockingham was identified in 1769 as one of five original counties for the colony. It is named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who had been Prime Minister from 1765 to 1766. The county was organized in 1771, with its county seat at Exeter. In 1823, certain townships from northwestern Rockingham (and some northern townships from Hillsborough County) became part of the formation of Merrimack County. In 1844, its area was further reduced by the formation of Belknap County to the northwest. In 1997, the county court facilities were moved to Brentwood, a rural town adjacent to Exeter.

Geography

The county occupies the southeastern corner of the state of New Hampshire, and it contains the state's easternmost point. The county contains all of New Hampshire's Atlantic coast, which, at approximately 18 miles (29 km), is the shortest ocean coastline of any state in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 795 square miles (2,060 km²), of which 695 square miles (1,800 km²) are land and 100 square miles (260 km²) (13%) are water. Its highest point is Nottingham Mountain, at 1,340 feet (410 m), in Deerfield.

Adjacent counties

• Strafford County (north)
• York County, Maine (northeast)
• Essex County, Massachusetts (south)
• Hillsborough County (west)
• Merrimack County (northwest)

National protected area

• Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 295,223 people, 115,033 households, and 79,832 families living in the county. The population density was 425.0 inhabitants per square mile (164.1/km²). There were 126,709 housing units at an average density of 182.4 per square mile (70.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.5% white, 1.7% Asian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.9% were Irish, 19.0% were English, 14.8% were Italian, 9.7% were German, 7.3% were French Canadian, 5.6% were Polish, and 3.8% were American.

Of the 115,033 households, 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 42.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $75,825 and the median income for a family was $90,463. Males had a median income of $61,443 versus $42,478 for females. The per capita income for the county was $35,889. About 3.0% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth is a collection of historic buildings from the 17th through 19th centuries. Canobie Lake Park, in Salem, is an amusement park that opened in 1902. Rockingham Park racetrack, which featured weekly horse racing until 2009, was also in Salem. The site of the former track, next to the Mall at Rockingham Park, is being redeveloped as Tuscan Village, a mixed-use development. America's Stonehenge, which claims to be a pre-Columbian collection of stone structures, is in northern Salem. Derry was home to poet Robert Frost, who taught at nearby Pinkerton Academy. His home, the Robert Frost Farm, has been preserved as a state park.

Rockingham County is also home to New Hampshire's entire seacoast and features several popular resort towns. Hampton Beach has a boardwalk and Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. Rye features several undeveloped beaches such as Odiorne Point State Park and contains New Hampshire's portion of the Isles of Shoals. Seabrook contains Seabrook Greyhound Park and the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, the last nuclear plant opened in the United States.

Communities

Map of school administrative units in Rockingham County

City

• Portsmouth

Towns

Census-designated places

Villages

• Candia Four Corners
• East Candia
• East Derry
• East Hampstead
• Newton Junction
• North Salem
• West Nottingham

Education

School districts include:

K-12 districts

Secondary districts

• Exeter Regional Cooperative School District
• Winnacunnet Cooperative School District

Elementary districts

There is also a privately endowed, publicly funded school, Pinkerton Academy in Derry. Towns in Rockingham County that send their public high school students to Pinkerton, other than Derry, include: Auburn, Candia, Chester, and Hampstead. Prior to 1978 Londonderry sent its high schoolers to Pinkerton. Previously Auburn and Candia sent high school students to the Manchester School District.

Notable person

• Robert W. Wiley (born 1963), politician

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Rockingham (Nuevo Hampshire) para niños