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Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2010 census, the population was 295,223.^[1] The county seat is Brentwood.^[2]

History

The area that today is Rockingham County was first settled by Europeans moving north from the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts as early as 1623. The government was linked tightly with Massachusetts until New Hampshire became a separate colony in 1679, but counties weren't introduced until 1769.

Rockingham was identified in 1769 as one of five original counties for the colony. It is named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who had been Prime Minister in 1765-1766. The county was organized in 1771, with its county seat at Exeter. In 1844 its area was reduced by the formation of Belknap County to the northwest. In 1997 the county court facilities were moved to Brentwood, a rural town adjacent to Exeter.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 794 square miles (2,056 km²), of which 695 square miles (1,800 km²) is land and 99 square miles (256 km²) (12.47%) is water.^[4] The highest point in Rockingham County is Nottingham Mountain, at 1,340 feet (410 m), in the town of Deerfield.

Adjacent counties

Rockingham County, New Hampshire

Essex County, Massachusetts

National protected area

Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	43,184	—
1800	45,427	5.2%
1810	50,175	10.5%
1820	55,246	10.1%
1830	44,325	−19.8%
1840	45,771	3.3%
1850	49,194	7.5%
1860	50,122	1.9%
1870	47,297	−5.6%
1880	49,064	3.7%
1890	49,650	1.2%
1900	51,118	3.0%
1910	52,188	2.1%
1920	52,498	0.6%
1930	53,750	2.4%
1940	58,142	8.2%
1950	70,059	20.5%
1960	99,029	41.4%
1970	138,951	40.3%
1980	190,345	37.0%
1990	245,845	29.2%
2000	277,359	12.8%
2010	295,223	6.4%
Est. 2012	297,820	0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 2012 Estimate^[1]

Map of school administrative units in Rockingham County

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 277,359 people, 104,529 households, and 74,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 399 people per square mile (154/km²). There were 113,023 housing units at an average density of 163 per square mile (63/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.80% White, 0.58% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 1.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of Irish, 14.6% English, 11.8% Italian, 10.5% French, 8.0% French Canadian, 6.0% German and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.3% spoke English, 1.8% French and 1.3% Spanish as their first language.

There were 104,529 households out of which 35.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 32.80% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $58,150, and the median income for a family was $66,345. (These figures had risen to $72,600 and $85,361 respectively, as of a 2007 estimate.^[7]) Males had a median income of $45,598 versus $30,741 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,656. About 3.10% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

There are 37 communities in Rockingham County - 36 towns and the city of Portsmouth:

City/Town	Population (2010)	Population Ranking	Land Area km²	Area Ranking	Density /km²	Density Ranking
Atkinson	6,751	14	28.8	28	234.4	11
Auburn	4,953	19	65.3	11	75.8	28
Brentwood	4,486	23	43.6	16	102.9	23
Candia	3,909	29	78.5	5	49.8	33
Chester	4,768	21	67.1	10	71.1	29
Danville	4,387	24	30.3	27	144.8	18
Deerfield	4,280	27	131.9	1	32.4	37
Derry	33,109	1	92.7	4	357.2	6
East Kingston	2,357	31	25.9	31	91.0	27
Epping	6,411	15	67.4	9	95.1	25
Exeter	14,306	6	50.9	13	281.1	7
Fremont	4,283	26	44.4	15	96.5	24
Greenland	3,549	30	27.2	30	130.4	20
Hampstead	8,523	11	34.5	21	247.0	10
Hampton	14,976	5	33.7	22	444.4	4
Hampton Falls	2,236	32	31.6	25	70.6	30
Kensington	2,124	33	31.0	26	68.5	31
Kingston	6,025	16	50.8	14	118.6	22
Londonderry	24,129	3	108.3	3	222.8	12
New Castle	968	35	2.1	37	461.0	2
Newfields	1,680	34	18.2	36	92.3	26
Newington	753	37	21.7	34	34.7	36
Newmarket	8,936	9	32.5	24	275.0	9
Newton	4,603	22	25.7	32	179.1	15
North Hampton	4,301	25	36.0	20	119.5	21
Northwood	4,241	28	72.5	7	58.5	32
Nottingham	4,785	20	120.4	2	39.7	35
Plaistow	7,609	12	27.5	29	276.7	8
Portsmouth	21,233	4	40.4	17	525.7	1
Raymond	10,138	8	74.5	6	136.1	19
Rye	5,298	18	32.7	23	162.0	17
Salem	28,776	2	64.0	12	449.6	3
Sandown	5,986	17	36.0	19	166.3	16
Seabrook	8,693	10	22.9	33	379.6	5
South Hampton	814	36	20.4	35	39.9	34
Stratham	7,255	13	39.1	18	185.5	14
Windham	13,592	7	69.4	8	195.9	13
Totals:	295,223		1,800		164.0

Attractions

The Rockingham County Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in Brentwood. Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth is a collection of historic buildings from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. Canobie Lake Park, located in Salem, is an amusement park that opened in 1902. Also in Salem is Rockingham Park racetrack, which features weekly horse racing and is next to the Mall at Rockingham Park, and America's Stonehenge, which claims to be a pre-Columbian collection of stone structures. Derry was home to poet Robert Frost, who taught at nearby Pinkerton Academy. His home, the Robert Frost Farm, has been preserved as a state park.

Rockingham County is also home to New Hampshire's entire seacoast and features several popular resort towns. Hampton Beach has a boardwalk and Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. The town of Rye features several undeveloped beaches such as Odiorne Point State Park and contains New Hampshire's portion of the Isles of Shoals. Seabrook contains the Seabrook Greyhound Racing Park and the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, the last nuclear plant opened in the United States.

Politics

**Presidential election results**^[8]
Year	Democratic	Republican
2012	47% 80,142	51.6% 87,921
2008	49.9% 83,723	48.8% 81,917
2004	47.5% 75,437	51.7% 82,069
2000	45.9% 61,628	49.1% 65,860

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
^ "Ignoring quality issues at courthouse is criminal". The Exeter News-Letter. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US27037&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US27%7C05000US27037&_street=&_county=rockingham&_cityTown=rockingham&_state=04000US33&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved 2011-06-11.

External links

Rockingham County official website

Municipalities and communities of Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States

County seat: Brentwood

City	Portsmouth

Towns	Atkinson Auburn Brentwood Candia Chester Danville Deerfield Derry East Kingston Epping Exeter Fremont Greenland Hampstead Hampton Hampton Falls Kensington Kingston Londonderry New Castle Newfields Newington Newmarket Newton North Hampton Northwood Nottingham Plaistow Raymond Rye Salem Sandown Seabrook South Hampton Stratham Windham

CDPs	Derry Epping Exeter Hampton Hampton Beach Londonderry Newfields Newmarket Raymond Seabrook Beach

Other villages	Candia Four Corners East Candia East Derry East Hampstead Newton Junction North Salem West Nottingham

State of New Hampshire

Concord (capital)

Topics	History Geography People Government Delegations Constitution General Court Executive Council Governor Supreme Court Elections Symbols Visitor attractions

Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics

Regions	Dartmouth–Lake Sunapee Great North Woods Lakes Region Merrimack Valley Monadnock Seacoast White Mountains

Counties	Belknap Carroll Cheshire Coös Grafton Hillsborough Merrimack Rockingham Strafford Sullivan

Cities	Berlin Claremont Concord Dover Franklin Keene Laconia Lebanon Manchester Nashua Portsmouth Rochester Somersworth

Towns	Acworth Albany Alexandria Allenstown Alstead Alton Amherst Andover Antrim Ashland Atkinson Auburn Barnstead Barrington Bartlett Bath Bedford Belmont Bennington Benton Bethlehem Boscawen Bow Bradford Brentwood Bridgewater Bristol Brookfield Brookline Campton Canaan Candia Canterbury Carroll Center Harbor Charlestown Chatham Chester Chesterfield Chichester Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Conway Cornish Croydon Dalton Danbury Danville Deerfield Deering Derry Dorchester Dublin Dummer Dunbarton Durham East Kingston Easton Eaton Effingham Ellsworth Enfield Epping Epsom Errol Exeter Farmington Fitzwilliam Francestown Franconia Freedom Fremont Gilford Gilmanton Gilsum Goffstown Gorham Goshen Grafton Grantham Greenfield Greenland Greenville Groton Hampstead Hampton Hampton Falls Hancock Hanover Harrisville Hart's Location Haverhill Hebron Henniker Hill Hillsborough Hinsdale Holderness Hollis Hooksett Hopkinton Hudson Jackson Jaffrey Jefferson Kensington Kingston Lancaster Landaff Langdon Lee Lempster Lincoln Lisbon Litchfield Littleton Londonderry Loudon Lyman Lyme Lyndeborough Madbury Madison Marlborough Marlow Mason Meredith Merrimack Middleton Milan Milford Milton Monroe Mont Vernon Moultonborough Nelson New Boston Newbury New Castle New Durham Newfields New Hampton Newington New Ipswich New London Newmarket Newport Newton Northfield North Hampton Northumberland Northwood Nottingham Orange Orford Ossipee Pelham Pembroke Peterborough Piermont Pittsburg Pittsfield Plainfield Plaistow Plymouth Randolph Raymond Richmond Rindge Rollinsford Roxbury Rumney Rye Salem Salisbury Sanbornton Sandown Sandwich Seabrook Sharon Shelburne South Hampton Springfield Stark Stewartstown Stoddard Strafford Stratford Stratham Sugar Hill Sullivan Sunapee Surry Sutton Swanzey Tamworth Temple Thornton Tilton Troy Tuftonboro Unity Wakefield Walpole Warner Warren Washington Waterville Valley Weare Webster Wentworth Westmoreland Whitefield Wilmot Wilton Winchester Windham Windsor Wolfeboro Woodstock

Townships	Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy Grant Bean's Grant Bean's Purchase Cambridge Chandler's Purchase Crawford's Purchase Cutt's Grant Dix's Grant Dixville Erving's Location Green's Grant Hadley's Purchase Hale's Location Kilkenny Livermore Low and Burbank's Grant Martin's Location Millsfield Odell Pinkham's Grant Sargent's Purchase Second College Grant Success Thompson and Meserve's Purchase Wentworth's Location