Public data · Compiled July 2026 · Every figure sourced
NH Mental Health Data Dashboard
New Hampshire's mental health system in numbers — prevalence, workforce, access, crisis utilization, and youth mental health, drawn entirely from public federal and state sources. Built for clinicians writing grants, journalists on deadline, and policymakers who need a citable figure fast.
26.9%
NH adults with any mental illness
≈305,000 people · US: 23.0% (NSDUH 2022–2023)
440
Mental health providers per 100,000
15th in the nation · US: 363 (AHR 2025)
95%
988 calls answered in-state
Up from 86% at launch (May 2026 KPI report)
~40%
NH high schoolers persistently sad or hopeless
First decline in a decade (2023 YRBS)
Section 1
Prevalence — how common is mental illness in NH?
New Hampshire consistently reports higher rates of mental illness than the national average: more than one in four adults experienced a mental illness in the past year. Mental Health America ranks NH 44th of 51 on prevalence — among the highest in the country.
Adult prevalence, NH vs US
Past-year prevalence, NSDUH model-based state estimates, 2022–2023 two-year average
*Substance use disorder is measured for ages 12 and older; other measures are adults 18+. Past-year, two-year annual averages.
Source: SAMHSA, 2022–2023
Depression and mental distress by county
CDC PLACES model-based estimates for all 10 NH counties (BRFSS 2023, 2025 release)
Adults ever told by a provider they have a depressive disorder (crude prevalence, 2023).
Source: CDC, 2023
Suicide deaths in New Hampshire
Deaths occurring in NH by year (NH Vital Records; includes non-residents). NH's 2023 suicide rate was 15.8 per 100,000 vs 14.7 nationally.
Section 2
Access & treatment gaps — who gets care, and who doesn't?
The paradox of NH’s system: prevalence is among the worst in the nation, but access ranks among the best — Mental Health America puts NH 4th of 51 on access to care. Even so, roughly half of adults with a mental illness were not receiving treatment in the most recent state-level estimate, and one in four reports an unmet need.
#4
MHA access-to-care rank
of 51 — among the best access in the US
#44
MHA prevalence rank
of 51 — among the highest prevalence in the US
#20
MHA overall rank
State of Mental Health in America 2025
Treatment gaps, NH vs US
Adults with any mental illness (AMI), by treatment and coverage measure
*Among adults reporting 14+ poor-mental-health days a month (BRFSS 2023). The untreated-AMI measure is NSDUH 2019–2020, the most recent state-level figure in the MHA series.
Coverage context: Medicaid & network access
Why coverage policy is mental health policy in NH
181,000+
Granite Staters covered by Medicaid
1 in 9 adults 19–64 · 1 in 4 children (NAMI, 2025)
60,000
Covered under Medicaid expansion
NAMI, 2025
23,000
Treated for substance use disorder via NH Medicaid
2021
3×
More likely to go out-of-network for mental health than primary care
NAMI NH fact sheet (Feb 2021 data)
Sources: NAMI, April 2025 · NAMI, February 2021 data
Section 3
Workforce — who staffs the system?
NH’s provider supply beats the national average and has been improving, yet 21 federally designated shortage areas remain — home to more than 150,000 people — and community mental health centers have struggled with hundreds of vacancies and heavy first-year turnover.
Workforce indicators
Provider supply, federally designated shortage areas (HPSAs), and CMHC staffing
440.3
Mental health providers per 100,000 residents
US: 362.6 · NH ranks #15 (AHR 2025)
260:1
Residents per mental health provider
US: 320:1 · Improved from 290:1 (2023 report) and 280:1 (2024 report).
21
Mental health professional shortage areas (HPSAs)
HRSA designations as of Dec 31, 2025
153,649
NH residents living in a shortage area
48.2% of need met vs 27.3% nationally
≈340
Unfilled clinical positions across NH's 10 CMHCs
Feb 2023 (NH Community Behavioral Health Association)
45%
New CMHC employees leaving within their first year
Feb 2023
Section 4
Crisis system — 988, mobile crisis, and ED boarding
Since 988 launched in July 2022 and the NH Rapid Response Access Point launched in January 2022, NH’s crisis system has handled steadily more volume while answering faster — and the state’s long-running emergency department psychiatric boarding crisis has fallen from dozens waiting daily to near zero.
988 Lifeline calls routed to NH centers
Selected months from the official in-state monthly KPI reports — volume up ~48% since launch while the answer rate climbed from 86% to 95%
95%
In-state answer rate, May 2026
86% in Aug 2022
9.6 sec
Average speed to answer, May 2026
34 sec in Aug 2022
1,604
Calls routed in May 2026
1,081 in Aug 2022
NH Rapid Response Access Point (833-710-6477)
Statewide crisis line and mobile crisis dispatch, launched January 2022
≈22,000
Contacts in its first year (2022)
NHPR, Feb 2023
46,000
Contacts by phone, text, or chat in 2024
New Futures — volume roughly doubled in two years
8,396
Mobile crisis team dispatches
Jan 2023 – Mar 2024 (NH DHHS Children's Behavioral Health Resource Center)
Emergency department psychiatric boarding
People waiting in NH emergency rooms for a psychiatric bed — the crisis a federal court ordered the state to fix, tracked since Feb 2021
Feb 202151 children
All-time high of children waiting in emergency rooms for a psychiatric bed; NH DHHS begins tracking the waitlist. [NHPR]
Apr 202342 people
9 children and 33 adults waiting for emergency mental health beds on a single day (Apr 24), weeks after a federal judge ruled the practice illegal. [WBUR]
FY 202331 per day
Daily average of patients boarding in NH emergency departments for the year ending June 2023. [EM Workforce]
Oct 202427 per day · 43 hrs
Daily average boarding count, with the average admission waiting 43 hours in the ED (court-ordered target: 6 hours). [EM Workforce]
Dec 6, 20240 adults
For the first time since tracking began, no adults waiting in emergency departments for psychiatric placement (NH DHHS “Mission Zero”). [NH DHHS], [EM Workforce]
Apr 202510 people
Waitlist of 10 with 15 inpatient beds available; the federal judge overseeing the case praised the state's progress. [NHPR]
Mar 20262 children
Two children boarding statewide, down from roughly 50 at the 2021 peak, as reported by NAMI NH. [New Hampshire Bulletin]
NH DHHS publishes current daily counts on its acute psychiatric bed data dashboard.
Section 5
Youth mental health — the next generation
NH adolescents report depression at rates well above the national average, and roughly half of NH youth with depression receive no treatment. The bright spots: persistent sadness declined in 2023 for the first time in a decade, and NH has one of the best school-counselor ratios in the country.
Youth prevalence & suicidality, NH vs US
NSDUH 2022–2023 (ages 12–17) and 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (high school students)
Persistent sadness or hopelessness
NH high school students, NH Youth Risk Behavior Survey
2023 value as published by NH DHHS (“approximately 40%”) — the first decline in a decade.
Students per school counselor, 2023–24
NH (191:1) and Vermont were the only states under the ASCA-recommended 250 students per counselor in 2023–24.
49.8%
NH youth with depression receiving no treatment
≈11,000 youth · US: 50.8% (MHA, NSDUH 2022–2023)
Section 6
Sources, methodology & how to cite
Every figure on this page comes from a public federal, state, or research source, linked beside the chart it supports. Compiled July 2026; underlying sources publish on their own schedules, so always confirm the latest release before publication. Survey estimates (NSDUH, PLACES, BRFSS, YRBS) are model-based with confidence intervals — see each source for margins of error.
Cite this page
Meridian Mental Health. (2026, July). NH mental health data dashboard. https://meridiannh.org/nh-mental-health-data
Journalists, grant writers, and policymakers are welcome to reuse any chart or figure with attribution — or cite the primary source directly (listed below and beside each chart). For questions about the compilation, contact us. Our resource-verification process is described in the methodology.
All sources
- SAMHSA. 2022–2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Model-Based Prevalence Estimates for States (2022–2023). Two-year model-based annual averages with Bayesian confidence intervals.
- CDC. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (2025 release; BRFSS 2023) (2023). Model-based crude prevalence estimates for all 10 NH counties.
- America's Health Rankings (United Health Foundation). Mental Health Providers — New Hampshire (2025). CMS NPPES data: psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, counselors, MFTs, and psychiatric APRNs.
- America's Health Rankings (CDC WONDER). Suicide — New Hampshire (2023).
- Mental Health America. The State of Mental Health in America 2025 (2024 (NSDUH 2022–2023, BRFSS 2023)).
- Mental Health America. The State of Mental Health in America 2023 (NSDUH 2019–2020). MHA retired this indicator after the 2023 report, so this is the latest state-level figure in the series.
- Mental Health America. State of Mental Health in America — Youth Data Rankings (NSDUH 2022–2023).
- KFF State Health Facts (HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce). Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) (as of December 31, 2025).
- NHPR (NH Community Behavioral Health Association). ‘System is broken’: NH mental health centers seek $30 million to expand staffing, treatment (February 2023).
- Vibrant Emotional Health / 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988 In-State Monthly KPI Reports (New Hampshire rows) (2022–2026). Monthly PDFs; call metrics only (state text/chat volumes are not published).
- New Futures. Crisis Services in New Hampshire (2024).
- NHPR. NH community mental health centers coverage (Rapid Response first-year volumes) (2023).
- NH Children's Behavioral Health Resource Center (NH DHHS). NH Rapid Response Access Point (January 2023 – March 2024).
- NH Suicide Prevention Council & NAMI New Hampshire. 2023 Annual Suicide Report (NH Vital Records / CDC WISQARS data) (published March 2025).
- NH DHHS. NH DHHS Releases 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results (October 2024).
- NH Charitable Foundation (NH YRBS). New data point to behavioral health challenges among young people (2022).
- CDC. Youth Risk Behavior Survey — national suicidality trends (MMWR Suppl. 73) (2023).
- American School Counselor Association (NCES data). Student-to-School-Counselor Ratios, 2023–2024 (2023–2024).
- NAMI. Mental Health in New Hampshire (state fact sheet) (February 2021 data).
- NAMI. Medicaid & Mental Health in New Hampshire (April 2025).
- NHPR. NH missed a court deadline to end ER boarding, but it's making some progress (May 2024).
- WBUR. Long ER stays for mental health patients persist in NH (April 2023).
- EM Workforce (NH DHHS Mission Zero dashboard data). New Hampshire Had Zero Involuntary ED Boarders (December 2024).
- NH DHHS. Mission Zero: No Adults Waiting in Emergency Departments for Psychiatric Placement (December 2024).
- NH DHHS. State-Run and Designated Acute Psychiatric Bed Data (Mission Zero dashboard) (updated daily).
- New Hampshire Bulletin. Five years later, children are still falling through the cracks (April 2026).
- NHPR. Judge praises NH progress cutting down wait times for inpatient mental health care (April 2025).
This dashboard contains aggregate public statistics only — no patient health information is collected, stored, or displayed. Chart filtering and downloads run entirely in your browser.
Behind these numbers are services. Search 190+ NH resources by area, insurance, and need.
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