Grafton County, New Hampshire

Grafton County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population is 81,743. Its is, which is a village within the town of. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown (another village within the town of Haverhill), and many listings still show Woodsville as the county seat. (The new courthouse is less than two miles from Woodsville.)

The county is the home of and.  rated Grafton County fourth in its list of the "Best Places to Live in Rural America" in 2006, citing low unemployment (despite slow economic growth), a favorable cost of living, and the presence of, the state's only national forest.

History
Grafton was one of the five counties originally identified for New Hampshire in. It was named for, who had been a supporter of American causes in , and who was serving as at the time. The county was organized at in, and originally included the entire northern frontier of New Hampshire, including a number of towns that are now in. In, the northern area was removed for the formation of. The three counties to the south were, and , and the eastern edge bordered the "". In, the county contained 50 townships and 17 locations, and had a population of 23,093.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,533 (1,750 ). 4,438 km² (1,713 sq mi) of it is land and 95 km² (37 sq mi) of it (2.10%) is water.

Grafton County is heavily rural. About half of its total area is in the. , featured in the film , and the landmark are located here, as are  and the. Many of the mountains of New Hampshire are within the county. The passes through parts of at least ten towns in the county.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Politics and government
In the, narrowly defeated , taking 47.41% of the vote to Bush's 46.81%. Other candidates got a combined 5.78%. In the 2004 presidential election John Kerry defeated George Bush by a wider margin: Kerry received 55.74% of the vote, while Bush received 43.17%.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 81,743 people, 31,598 households, and 20,254 families residing in the county. The was 18/km² (48/sq mi). There were 43,729 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (26/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 95.76%, 1.73% , 0.53% or , 0.31% , 0.03% , 0.39% from , and 1.26% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population were or  of any race. 95.1% spoke, 1.5% and 1.3%  as their first language.

There were 31,598 households out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-families. 27.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.90% under the age of 18, 13.50% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,962, and the median income for a family was $50,424. Males had a median income of $31,874 versus $25,286 for females. The for the county was $22,227. About 5.10% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns
There are 38 towns and one city in Grafton County.


 * * City
 * ** Unincorporated

Radio stations in Grafton County
(Compiled from Thomas C. Hokenson via Radiostationworld.com)
 * WQTH - 720 AM, -  (CP)
 * - 1340 AM, -
 * - 1300 AM,
 * WTSL - 1400 AM, - /
 * - 1400 AM, -  - "Oldies 1400"
 * WUVR - 1490 AM, -
 * W217BH - 91.3 FM, -  -  of  in
 * WEVH - 91.3 FM, -
 * - 91.7 FM, -
 * W231BW - 94.1 FM, - 70's-90's  - "Mix 96.7" - Simulcast of  in
 * W240AK - 95.9 FM, - Religious - "Alive Radio" - Simulcast of  in
 * - 96.7 FM, - 70's-90's  - "Mix 96.7"
 * W245AF - 96.9 FM, - "New Hampshire Gospel Radio" - Simulcast of  in
 * W247AO - 97.3 FM, -  - Simulcast of  in
 * W249AW - 97.7 FM, - Religious - "Alive Radio" - Simulcast of  in
 * - 99.3 FM, -  - "99 Rock"
 * - 100.1 FM, - "The Planet"
 * - 100.5 FM, -  - "Kixx Country"
 * - 101.3 FM, -
 * W272AU - 102.3 FM, -  - "Champ 101.3 & 102.1" - Simulcast of  in
 * W280CS - 103.9 FM, -  - Simulcast of  in
 * WLKC - 105.7 FM, - "The River" - Simulcast of  in
 * - 106.3 FM, -  - "The Notch"
 * W294AB - 106.7 FM, -  - "Q106" - Simulcast of  in
 * W299AM - 107.7 FM, -  - "Point FM" - Simulcast of  in