Nashua: Economy
Major Industries and Commercial Activity
Nashua is home to a number of industries, including computers, health care, and high technology. Since the 1950s, Nashua has become a virtual incubator for high technology, and a wide variety of electronic components and computer products are produced locally. Nashua ranks high for its business environment as a result of having acceptable corporate tax and wage rates, the educational level of the work force, the interstate highway system, and the absence of New Hampshire sales and income taxes. While maintaining a strong manufacturing base, Nashua is the major retail, service, and financial center for southern Hillsborough County and adjacent Massachusetts communities. The absence of a sales tax makes the city a shopping mecca.
Items and goods produced: printing and publishing, electronic equipment (especially software), fabricated metal products, machinery
Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies
Local programs
The State of New Hampshire, which levies no state sales or income tax, is considered one of the most favorable climates for doing business in the nation. Because so much is provided at the state level, few incentives are offered at the city-town level. In fact, by state law, New Hampshire cities are prohibited from offering tax breaks to private industry. In Nashua, the Office of Economic Development is a one-stop source for resources needed to start or expand a business. The city's revolving loan fund, in partnership with private financial institutions, provides small businesses and industries with gap financing.
State programs
The state's incentives include no general sales or use tax, no general personal income tax, no capital gains tax, no inventory tax, no property tax on machinery or equipment, one of the lowest unemployment insurance rates in the country, investment tax incentives, job tax credits, and research and development tax incentives. In 2004, the State of New Hampshire instituted the Community Reinvestment Opportunity Program (CROP), which offers tax credits that may be used against business profit taxes and business enterprise taxes. Qualifying CROP projects must create new jobs as well as expand the state economic base.
Job training programs
The Small Business Development Center, which is funded by the Small Business Association, the State of New Hampshire, and the University of New Hampshire, offers management counseling, training, and resource information to the state's small business community through six sub-centers. The New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) aids individuals in obtaining financial aid to prepare for and find employment. The NHEP On-The-Job Training Program offers employers incentives to hire and train eligible applicants.
Development Projects
In July of 2004, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center broke ground on a $17 million construction project that will expand the hospital's cardiac care and emergency room offerings. In 2005 Nashua's other main hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, broke ground on a $25 million expansion and relocation of its Cardiovascular Center, Oncology Center, Endoscopy Surgicenter, and Phlebotomy department. The 64,000 square foot addition with adjoin the main hospital via a central atrium that will serve as the hospital's new main entrance.
Nashua plans to introduce commuter rail service to the city that will provide access to Boston via Lowell, Massachusetts. The city is developing the project in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the Nashua Regional Planning Commission. The estimated cost of the project, which includes a station, parking, track improvements, train set, and an operating subsidy, is $70.1 million.
Economic Development Information: Office of Economic Development, City of Nashua, 229 Main St., Nashua, NH 03060; telephone (603)589-3070. New Hampshire Small Business Development Center, Rivier College, Sylvia Trotter Hall, 420 Main Street, Nashua, NH 03060-5086; telephone (603)897-8587
Commercial Shipping
While at one point Nashua hosted four different railroad depots, train travel declined with the advent of the automobile. Today, only the Guilford Industries rail line runs through Nashua. Several motor freight carriers service the city, which is home to a number of warehouses.
Labor Force and Employment Outlook
Nashua boasts a reliable, abundant, highly skilled and trained workforce. The expansion of high-technology companies in the region during the last decades of the twentieth century created a core of experienced workers in technology development and management. The Nashua region has a labor force of nearly 130,000 workers, with skills ranging from software and electronic engineering, to component assembly and bench work. Although recent years have seen the relocation of long-established businesses and a loss of manufacturing jobs to lower cost foreign labor markets, new businesses such as software firms and major retailers and franchises continue to establish themselves in Nashua. Other established businesses have expanded as well. Since 2003 the unemployment rate in Nashua has continued to drop and is slightly below the national average. The fastest growing economic sector is retail and services, especially services connected to travel, tourism, and recreation.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Nashua metropolitan area labor force, 2004 annual averages.
Size of nonagricultural labor force: 129,100
Number of workers employed in . . .
construction and mining: 5,900
manufacturing: 26,000
trade, transportation and utilities: 30,500
information: 2,000
financial activities: 8,000
professional and business services: 12,700
educational and health services: 15,300
leisure and hospitality: 10,300
other services: 4,500
government: 14,000
Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $15.97
Unemployment rate: 3.7% (state average, March 2005)
| Largest employers (2004 estimates) | Number of employees |
| BAE Systems North America | 1,000 |
| Southern New Hampshire Medical Center | 1,000 |
| St. Joseph Hospital and Trauma Center | 1,000 |
| Teradyne Connection Systems Inc. | 1,000 |
| City of Nashua | 1,000 |
| Hewlett Packard | 500 |
| Nashua Corporation | 500 |
| GL &V Pulp Group Inc. | 250 |
| GN Netcom/Unex Inc. | 250 |
Cost of Living
New Hampshire has been called one of the last great tax havens in the United States. The state depends more upon real property taxes for revenue than most states as it does not have general income, sales, or use taxes. Substantial revenue is collected from taxes on gasoline, tobacco and alcohol, and parimutuel betting.
The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors in the Nashua area.
2004 ACCRA Average House Price: Not reported
2004 ACCRA Cost of Living Index: Not reported
State income tax rate: None on salaries and wages of residents; limited tax upon interest and dividends received by individuals, trusts, estates and partners in excess of $2,400. There is a $10.00 "Resident Tax" on all persons between 18 and 60 years of age with some exceptions.
State sales tax rate: None
Local income tax rate: None
Local sales tax rate: None
Property tax rate: $19.85 per $1,000 of assessed value, 2004)
Economic Information: Office of Economic Development, City of Nashua, 229 Main Street, Nashua, NH 03060; telephone (603)589-3070