Tax Rates Rise In Concord, Due Mostly To SAU 8 School District Increase; Penacook Rate Also Higher

CONCORD, NH — New, higher tax rates are coming to the city of Concord in 2026, with expected higher assessments, though they are officially unknown.

The 2025 tax rate, confirmed by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue, will be $29.11 for Concord and $30.74 for Penacook. Historically, Penacook’s rates have been due to higher education costs. The increase for 2025 is about $4 higher across five years for Concord and $2.75 higher for Penacook, with increases in the Concord School District pushing its rate closer to the Merrimack Valley rate. SAU 8 is nearly $2.50 higher than it was five years ago, the last time properties were assessed in Concord, while MV is only $1 higher.

The city portion of the 2025 tax rate only increased by 34 cents in the past year, according to Stefanie Breton, the public information officer for the city of Concord.

“The city’s tax rate reflects careful considerations and the hard work of Mayor Champlin and the members of the city council during a difficult budget year,” she said.

The majority of the 2025 increase was due to the Concord School District, driving rates up by $1.08 per $1,000 of assessment, higher than last year.

Breton said reevaluations were unknown at the time of publication but would be posted next year.

The city is undergoing a reevaluation of assessments for all parcels, the first in several years. The previous reevaluation was in 2004.

The previous reevaluation led to a rate cut, the norm, due to assessments rising from around $220,000 to $324,000, according to data released by the city in 2021.

The fact that tax rates are going up while the city is in the process of reevaluation of assessments is not a good sign since everyone is expecting assessments to rise significantly due to sale prices increasing in the city. Median home sale prices, about $425,000, were up more than 6 percent when comparing October 2025 and 2024 sales, according to Redfin.com, with square footage prices increasing by 9 percent year over year. Median sale prices have dropped slightly from their April 2024 peak of more than $500,000. That is nearly double the median price reported in January 2021.

Quarterly tax bills should be mailed out before Dec. 2, with a due date of Jan. 2. The next bill after that will be due on March 31, 2026.

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