Sullivan County, New Hampshire

Sullivan County
Sullivan County
County
	Lempster Mountain Wind Power Project overlooking cemetery in East Lempster, NH
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of New Hampshire
	New Hampshire's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 43°20′39″N 72°14′50″W / 43.344208°N 72.24733°W
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Founded	1827
Named for	John Sullivan
Seat	Newport
Largest city	Claremont
Area
• Total	552.1 sq mi (1,430 km2)
• Land	537.5 sq mi (1,392 km2)
• Water	14.6 sq mi (38 km2) 2.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	43,063
• Density	80.1/sq mi (30.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.sullivancountynh.gov

Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,063,^[1] making it the second-least populous county in New Hampshire. Its county seat is Newport.^[2]

Sullivan County is included in the Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Sullivan County was organized at Newport in 1827 from the northern portion of Cheshire County. It is named for John Sullivan (1740–1795), the Revolutionary War hero and a former governor.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 552 square miles (1,430 km²), of which 537 square miles (1,390 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (2.7%) is water.^[3] It is the third-smallest county in New Hampshire by area.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	19,669	—
1840	20,340	3.4%
1850	19,375	−4.7%
1860	19,041	−1.7%
1870	18,058	−5.2%
1880	18,161	0.6%
1890	17,304	−4.7%
1900	18,009	4.1%
1910	19,337	7.4%
1920	20,922	8.2%
1930	24,286	16.1%
1940	25,442	4.8%
1950	26,441	3.9%
1960	28,067	6.1%
1970	30,949	10.3%
1980	36,063	16.5%
1990	38,592	7.0%
2000	40,458	4.8%
2010	43,742	8.1%
2020	43,063	−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[4] 1790-1960^[5] 1900-1990^[6] 1990-2000^[7] 2010-2018^[8]

2000 census

At the 2000 census,^[9] there were 40,458 people, 16,530 households and 11,174 families living in the county. The population density was 29/; (75/sq mi). There were 20,158 housing units at an average density of 38 units per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.99% White, 0.24% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 0.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.9% were of English, 14.7% French, 11.7% French Canadian, 10.7% American, 10.0% Irish, 6.2% German and 5.1% Italian ancestry. 96.1% spoke English and 1.6% French as their first language.

There were 16,530 households, of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.88.

23.90% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median household income was $40,938 and the median family income was $48,516. Males had a median income of $32,185 versus $24,615 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,319. About 5.20% of families and 8.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.50% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 43,742 people, 18,126 households, and 12,025 families living in the county.^[10] The population density was 81.4 inhabitants per square mile (31.4/km²). There were 22,341 housing units at an average density of 41.6 per square mile (16.1/km²).^[11] The racial makeup of the county was 97.0% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population.^[10] In terms of ancestry, 23.9% were English, 16.3% were Irish, 9.2% were German, 7.1% were Italian, 6.0% were French Canadian, 5.2% were Scottish, 5.1% were Polish, and 4.4% were American.^[12]

Of the 18,126 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.7% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 43.9 years.^[10]

The median income for a household in the county was $50,689 and the median income for a family was $61,959. Males had a median income of $44,408 versus $34,233 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,322. About 7.5% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.^[13]

Politics and government

United States presidential election results for Sullivan County, New Hampshire^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	11,508	47.08%	12,390	50.69%	546	2.23%
2016	10,796	47.60%	10,210	45.01%	1,677	7.39%
2012	9,269	42.45%	12,166	55.71%	402	1.84%
2008	9,169	40.30%	13,249	58.23%	336	1.48%
2004	10,142	46.51%	11,434	52.44%	228	1.05%
2000	9,304	49.84%	8,224	44.05%	1,140	6.11%
1996	6,824	39.54%	8,380	48.55%	2,056	11.91%
1992	6,318	35.50%	7,921	44.50%	3,560	20.00%
1988	8,836	57.82%	6,378	41.73%	69	0.45%
1984	9,220	64.75%	4,962	34.85%	57	0.40%
1980	7,472	52.85%	4,889	34.58%	1,776	12.56%
1976	6,679	50.57%	6,323	47.88%	205	1.55%
1972	7,901	58.13%	5,554	40.86%	137	1.01%
1968	6,094	49.43%	5,817	47.19%	417	3.38%
1964	3,975	31.15%	8,787	68.85%	0	0.00%
1960	7,105	52.34%	6,469	47.66%	0	0.00%
1956	8,403	66.44%	4,239	33.52%	5	0.04%
1952	8,317	63.68%	4,743	36.32%	0	0.00%
1948	6,003	55.49%	4,696	43.41%	119	1.10%
1944	5,935	49.82%	5,972	50.13%	6	0.05%
1940	5,583	48.74%	5,872	51.26%	0	0.00%
1936	5,347	50.74%	5,113	48.52%	78	0.74%
1932	5,153	53.79%	4,368	45.60%	58	0.61%
1928	5,754	61.57%	3,549	37.97%	43	0.46%
1924	5,187	68.03%	2,268	29.74%	170	2.23%
1920	4,647	64.35%	2,521	34.91%	54	0.75%
1916	2,193	49.33%	2,215	49.82%	38	0.85%
1912	1,677	38.85%	1,523	35.28%	1,117	25.87%
1908	2,758	63.21%	1,469	33.67%	136	3.12%
1904	2,774	64.21%	1,447	33.50%	99	2.29%
1900	2,559	61.43%	1,538	36.92%	69	1.66%
1896	2,750	71.45%	865	22.47%	234	6.08%
1892	2,434	53.84%	2,021	44.70%	66	1.46%
1888	2,588	54.95%	2,040	43.31%	82	1.74%
1884	2,477	53.95%	2,031	44.24%	83	1.81%
1880	2,729	55.46%	2,175	44.20%	17	0.35%
1876	2,568	54.91%	2,106	45.03%	3	0.06%

County Commission

The executive power of Sullivan County's government is held by three county commissioners, each representing one of the three commissioner districts within the county.

District	Commissioner	Hometown	Party
1	Joe Osgood	Claremont	Republican
2	Ben Nelson	Grantham	Republican
3	George Hebert	Goshen	Republican

^[15]

In addition to the County Commission, there are five directly elected officials: they include County Attorney, Register of Deeds, County Sheriff, Register of Probate, and County Treasurer.^[16]

Office	Name
County Attorney	Marc Hathaway (R)
Register of Deeds	Janet Gibson (R)
County Sheriff	John Simonds (R)
Register of Probate	Rodd Ward (R)
County Treasurer	Michael Sanderson (R)

General court

The general court delegation from Sullivan County is made up of all of the members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the county. In total there are 13 members from 11 different districts. The party distribution of representatives after the 2022 elections is as follows.^[17]