While New Hampshire college students are more financially secure than their peers nationally, according to recent data, many are still struggling.
The Texas-based firm Trellis Strategies surveyed over 118,000 undergraduate students across the nation in 2024 and 2025 about topics relating to financial wellness.
Half of New Hampshire students reported that they worry about being able to pay their monthly expenses. Forty-seven percent of Granite State respondents said they would struggle to find $500 in an emergency, lower than the national response of 54%.
More than half of New Hampshire students said they ran out of money this year — still lower than the national average of two-thirds.
Trellis Strategies describes financial security as a “foundational element of academic success and overall student well-being, allowing students to focus on learning, rather than survival.”
Three-fourths of students from the 10 institutions surveyed in the Granite State said that they are members of the workforce in addition to being students. Many still worry about being able to pay their monthly expenses.
When asked whether they had used a credit card to pay for basic necessities, 88% responded ‘yes,’ in line with the national average. Only half fully pay off their credit card bills each month.
N.H. students are slightly more food secure compared to their peers, though a third reported experiencing food insecurity within the last 30 days.
When it comes to paying for college, N.H. is a loan-heavy state. Twenty-one percent of students have had parents take out loans to pay their tuition, double the 10% statistic nationwide. Forty-six percent of students surveyed in the state have taken out loans for themselves, compared to 33% of respondents as a whole.
In comparison to national numbers, fewer N.H. students utilized grants, though more received scholarships.
Students in N.H. said they aren’t as confident in their school’s ability to help with their financial concerns as their peers in other states, with less than half believing their school has the support services they need. Only one-fifth of students in N.H. have utilized public assistance.
The Trellis Strategies Student Financial Wellness Survey is an online survey documenting the self-reported financial well-being and student success indicators of college students.
See the full N.H. statistics here:
