New Hampshire : Population

A total of 223,026 residents of New Hampshire claimed English ancestry in 2000. Inhabitants of French origin numbered about 180,947, and Irish ancestry included 240,804 inhabitants. In 2000, there were 9,035 black Americans, 15,931 Asians, 371 Pacific Islanders, and 2,964 Native Americans in New Hampshire. In the same year, there were 20,489 residents of Hispanic origin, or 1.7% of the total population.

The first settlers of New Hampshire were Separatists, precursors of the modern Congregationalists. Their first church was probably built around 1633. The first Episcopal church was built in 1638 and the first Quaker meetinghouse in 1701. Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists built churches later in the 18th century. The state remained almost entirely Protestant until the second half of the 19th century, when Roman Catholics began settling in large numbers along with  some Greek and Russian Orthodox Christians.

In 2000, Roman Catholics were the largest single Christian denomination with about 431,259 adherents. Leading Protestant denominations were the United Church of Christ, with 34,299 adherents; the United Methodist Church, 18,927; the American Baptist Churches–USA, 16,359; and the Episcopal Church had 16,148 adherents. There were about 10,020 Jews and 3,782 Muslims throughout the state. A few small groups have reported considerable growth since 1990 includes the the Salvation Army, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and the Christian Churches and the Churches of Christ.