By Taylor Cray and Sarah Wrightsman
As an organization deeply imbedded in the Seacoast region, we are fortunate to engage in a wide variety of community conversations. Despite differences between communities, we hear shared concern about how new housing might impact school enrollment in local school districts. Some believe that new housing, particularly larger, multi-family projects, will disproportionately increase the number of students attending area schools and utilizing school-based services.
On the surface, this concern makes perfect sense: it seems that increasing the number of available housing units in a community could easily lead to an increase in families with school age children. New housing, however, doesn't always mean more school-age children, and many New Hampshire communities have space to welcome new students into their classrooms without any additional cost to taxpayers.
In this blog post, we present four common misconceptions about and explore actual outcomes of new housing in New Hampshire school districts. A big thank you to contributing author, Sarah Wrightsman of New Hampshire Housing, whose recent study on the relationship between housing development and school enrollment inspired this blog post, and continues to inform conversation on this topic across the state.
Misconception #1: Multifamily housing introduces more students to a school district than single-family housing.
This might sound logical, but it’s actually not the case! Multifamily housing—where multiple units are in one building—typically has fewer students per unit than single-family homes. Here are the facts and figures:
Overall, housing development in New Hampshire generates an average of roughly 0.29 students per unit meaning 100 new housing units in a community would only bring 29 students to the district.
New single-family homes generates more students than any other housing type: 0.40 per unit, or 40 students per 100 units.
New multi-family homes, on the other hand, generates only 0.06 students per unit, or 6 students per 100 units.
Misconception #2: New students in a district will increase costs.
When we talk about school enrollment, it's easy to mix up "average" and "marginal" costs. For example, even if the average cost per student seems high—let’s say $15,000 on your property tax bill—the cost to add one more student to the district is actually $0, as long as the district has the space and resources to accommodate them.
Many New Hampshire school districts actually face declining school enrollment and often have capacity to bring in more students with no added cost. When a new student moves to a district with capacity, there is no need to hire educators, build new classrooms, use more energy, or increase maintenance in schools.
Misconception #3: More housing units will negatively impact the tax base in my school district.
Building new homes increases local tax revenue, which usually helps improve funding for schools in the area. In other words, more housing units mean more households are paying taxes.
The recent study from New Hampshire Housing found that homes built between 2014 and 2023 brought in an average net benefit of $1,711 per unit for local schools. Condos and multi-family homes had the highest benefits, with condos bringing in $10,027 per unit and multi-family units $7,026 per unit.
Misconception #4: We don't know who will be living in these new housing units.
While we can't say for sure who will be living in new housing, we’re lucky to have plenty of examples that help guide our predictions. People who move into affordable and workforce housing are often similar to those already living in your neighborhood. They might include small business owners, artists, baristas, EMTs, social workers, and even teachers—everyone looking for affordable housing close to where they work and serve the community.
What's more, in recent years we've seen an increase in schools struggling to retain educators and staff because the cost of housing is too high in district communities. So, building new homes in a community can help schools both financially and staffing.
Takeaways and Other Resources:
While it takes time to adjust to new housing, it’s important to remember that children are our future and communities are stronger when young families and educators can afford housing close to school for the duration of their school years or teaching careers. Moreover, many communities, both in New Hampshire and across the country, are actually seeing a decline in school enrollment, meaning they can and often want to welcome new students.
This article from Shelterforce outlines examples from a variety of communities (including one in Cumberland, Maine) that have rejected new housing units due to fears about student enrollment. Many of these communities had space in their school districts for more students, and would have benefitted greatly from more affordable housing units: Fact Check: New Housing Doesn't Lead to Overcrowded Schools — Shelterforce.
Another huge thank you to Sarah Wrightsman for her contributions to this blog post! Another big thank you to New Hampshire Housing for their From Homes to Classrooms report, which inspired this blog post and provided much of the information discussed. Be sure to read the report here: From Homes to Classrooms: The Relationship Between Housing and School Enrollment in New Hampshire.
If you learn better through video, New Hampshire Housing has put together an overview of the report on YouTube: From Homes to Classrooms: The Link Between Housing Development and School Enrollment in NH.
This report from Richard W. England, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Paul College of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire, outlines the impacts of increased school enrollment on local tax rates. The report was prepared for the New Hampshire Association of Realtors in 2019, but remains relevant and engaging when thinking about this same issue today: Will More Kids in Town Raise the Local Tax Rate?
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