New Hampshire Health Care Best In Nation, Report Finds

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

With Americans spending an average of $14,600 annually on personal health care, a new report from WalletHub ranks New Hampshire as the top state in the nation for overall health care quality and affordability in 2025.

The personal-finance website evaluated all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 44 key metrics, including average insurance premiums, access to care, and health outcomes. New Hampshire emerged as the clear leader, with strong scores in both cost and quality.

“Health care has two crucial components: cost and quality,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “New Hampshire delivers on both fronts.”

Granite State by the Numbers

New Hampshire ranked:

• 1st in overall health care quality
• 1st in average monthly insurance premium (approximately $470)
• 4th-lowest out-of-pocket medical spending
• 3rd-lowest prevalence of stroke
• 2nd-lowest prevalence of type-2 diabetes
• 5th-lowest prevalence of coronary heart disease

While the state ranks 21st in physicians per capita and 29th in dentists per capita, it fares better on coverage rates—13th for insured adults and 16th for insured children. Just 9 percent of New Hampshire adults reported skipping a dental visit in the past year, placing the state in the top ten nationally.

Tracking Health Care Spending

The New Hampshire Insurance Department has also released a detailed breakdown of how health care dollars are spent within the state. In 2022, total health care expenditures in New Hampshire reached $13.02 billion, or $9,331 per person.

According to the department’s HealthCare Dollar model:

• 52 cents of every dollar went to hospital facility charges
• 28 cents went to health care professionals such as doctors, nurses, and physician assistants
• 19 cents covered prescription drug costs—a growing share of overall spending

These insights help policymakers and consumers understand where their money goes and how to manage rising costs.

WalletHub’s full 2025 Best & Worst States for Health Care report is available at wallethub.com.

As the national debate over health care access and affordability continues, New Hampshire’s performance offers a potential model for balancing quality outcomes with financial sustainability.

DEVELOPING…

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.