Belknap County, New Hampshire Eviction Risk: Moderate

Belknap County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.1/10 (Moderate), placing it 2nd of 10 New Hampshire counties in overall risk. That ranking means only one county in the state scores higher; the remaining eight are measurably less risky, putting Belknap solidly in the higher-risk third of New Hampshire. For landlords considering the lakes-region market, the number signals a rental environment where collections pressure and tenant turnover deserve serious weight in underwriting.

Across the county's 5 scored cities, risk runs from 3.6 to 4.1/10, a narrower spread than many counties of comparable size, which tells landlords that elevated conditions are not confined to one troubled pocket. With an average renter share of 35.2% of households and an average rent of $1,173 per month, the rental market is real but not deep, and the 33.2% average rent-burden rate indicates a meaningful share of tenants are already stretched thin.

The cities inside Belknap County

Laconia leads the county at 4.1/10, the highest individual city score in Belknap. With a population of roughly 2,617, it is a smaller market where a single distressed property can move portfolio metrics quickly. Immediately behind it, Laconia, the county seat and by far the largest city at 17,085 residents, scores 4.1/10, matching the county average exactly. Alton also scores 3.6/10, though its much smaller population of 281 limits deal volume.

Landlords seeking lower exposure within Belknap County should look to Belmont, which scores 3.7/10, the county's most landlord-friendly reading, and New Hampton eviction risk at 3.9/10. Even so, neither city drops below the Elevated tier, underscoring that risk here is broadly distributed rather than concentrated. Investors who assume the rural periphery is automatically safer than Laconia will find the data does not support that assumption.

State-level laws that apply here

New Hampshire state law governs every eviction in Belknap County under RSA section 540. For non-payment of rent, landlords may serve a 7-day notice, which is among the shorter notice periods in the Northeast. Lease violations and no-cause terminations both require a 30-day notice. New Hampshire does not require just cause for eviction, and there is no statewide rent control, which preserves meaningful flexibility to reset rents at turnover. Reviewing the full New Hampshire eviction process is essential before filing, because procedural missteps add time to a timeline that already runs 30 to 50 days for uncontested cases and 60 to 120 days for contested ones.

On the cost side, court filing fees range from $130 to $195, sheriff fees from $30 to $125, and attorney fees from $500 to $2,500, so a disputed eviction can push total out-of-pocket expenses toward the higher end of that combined range. Understanding New Hampshire eviction costs upfront allows landlords to price that risk into lease terms and security deposits from the start, rather than absorbing it as an unexpected loss.

With an average poverty rate of 11.8% across the county's cities, a meaningful portion of Belknap County renters face economic stress that can translate into late payments and collections friction; the city-level scores in the grid above show where that pressure is highest.