Manufacturing in New Hampshire Runs 29% Above the National Cost Average

New Hampshire's manufacturing cost index stands at 128.8 against a national 100 as of July 2026 — labor at 109.7 and industrial energy at 186.0. That places it 45th cheapest of 51 jurisdictions.

• composite (US = 100): 128.8
• labor: 109.7
• industrial energy: 186.0

The composite weights labor at 75% and industrial electricity at 25%, so New Hampshire's position is mostly an energy story: its energy component indexes at 186.0 against the national 100. A premium of 29 points compounds differently across shops — a labor-heavy job shop feels the labor line, an energy-hungry process plant feels the kilowatt-hours.

For a site decision the index is the starting point, not the answer: freight to customers, workforce depth, and incentives move individual cases. The per-state page carries the underlying wage and electricity series this index is built from, both refreshed automatically.