Carroll County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,107, making it the third-least populous county in New Hampshire. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Ossipee. The county was created in 1840 and organized at Ossipee from towns removed from Strafford County. It was named in honor of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who had died in 1832, the last surviving signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.2%) is water. It is the third-largest county in New Hampshire by total area. Northern Carroll County is known for being mountainous. Several ski areas, including Cranmore Mountain, Attitash, King Pine, and Black Mountain, are located here. A salient along the northwestern margin of the county runs through Crawford Notch; the northern portion of the salient is within Crawford Notch State Park.

Adjacent counties

* Coos County (north) * Oxford County, Maine (northeast) *

York County, Maine York County is both the southernmost and the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Maine, along the state of New Hampshire's eastern border. It is divided from Strafford County, New Hampshire, by the Salmon Falls River and the connected ti ...

(southeast) * Strafford County (south) * Belknap County (southwest) * Grafton County (west)

National protected area

* White Mountain National Forest (part)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 43,666 people, 18,351 households, and 12,313 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 34,750 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.22%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.17%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 0.48% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 22.5% were of English, 15.6% Irish, 10.5% American, 9.7% French, 6.7% German, 5.8% Italian and 5.2% Scottish ancestry. 96.5% spoke English and 1.6% French as their first language. There were 18,351 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.82. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.60% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 27.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,990, and the median income for a family was $46,922. Males had a median income of $31,811 versus $23,922 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $21,931. About 5.50% of families and 7.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 47,818 people, 21,052 households, and 13,569 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 39,813 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, The largest ancestry group in Carroll County are people of English ancestry, who make up 29.3% of people in the county. The second largest ancestry group in the county are people of Irish ancestry who make up 24.7%. The third largest group is people of French ancestry who make up 13.8% of people in the county. Of the 21,052 households, 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.5% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $49,897 and the median income for a family was $60,086. Males had a median income of $41,634 versus $32,402 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,411. About 6.1% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the

, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over. Carroll county population density

Politics and government

The county is historically Republican and was the only county in all of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

to vote for

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

in 1964. In 2008

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received 52.39% of the county's vote, making him the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the county since 1912 and the first Democratic presidential nominee to win an absolute majority in the county since 1884. Joe Biden later repeated this feat in 2020. However, despite the recent Democratic trend, the county has not voted more Democratic than the nation since 1888 in terms of two-party vote. The county is politically divided between the more conservative southern half, home to several seasonal communities along the north shore of Lake Winnipesaukee including Moultonborough, Tuftonboro, and Wolfeboro, and the more liberal northern half, with several ski towns and resort towns such as Bartlett and

Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...

. In both the 2012 Presidential and gubernatorial elections in New Hampshire, Democratic candidates easily won the northern half of the county, and Republican candidates easily won the southern half of the county. Carroll County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.

County Commission

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

Legislative branch

The legislative branch of Carroll County is made up of all of the members of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

from the county. In total, as of January 2021 there are 15 members from 8 different districts.

Communities

Towns

* Albany * Bartlett * Brookfield * Chatham *

* Eaton * Effingham *

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

* Hart's Location * Jackson * Madison * Moultonborough * Ossipee (county seat) *

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

* Tamworth * Tuftonboro * Wakefield * Wolfeboro