Housing tops list of priorities young Lakes Region residents name for change

Young people in the Lakes Region are feeling the disconnect between how year-round and seasonal residents are prioritized. Housing was at the forefront of a recent community conversation in Meredith, with representatives from Stay Work Play.

Survey results from Stay Work Play’s Policy & Pints series show young Granite Staters need changes in order to stay in the New Hampshire workforce.

According to the results, 85% of young people — defined as ages 18-40 — say New Hampshire is worse for housing than any other state. This data shows Stay Work Play Executive Director Corinne Breton-Benfield changes need to be made at the Statehouse.

“The data really gives us a strong blueprint on how our organization can meet young people where they're at,” she said. “It’s the opportunity to reflect back to community lawmakers and businesses on what’s attracting young people, but also the pain points, or risks that we need to mitigate.”

Tracking more than 100 bills at the Statehouse in 2025, Stay Work Play amplifies the voice of young professionals to drive change for the future of New Hampshire.

“I like to give people the analogy, we’re like AARP for young people. Adults 18-40. That’s the demographic we’re focused on,” she said, explaining how ages are broken into cohorts. Data helps to drive these points home, and often, the voices of youth are used in testimony to further the progress of said bills.

“Stay Work Play, as an entity, we are the microphone for young Granite Staters at the Statehouse, but also with business and state leadership.”

Taking place at the beginning of 2025, following a quality of life survey, Stay Work Play hosted listening sessions in each of New Hampshire’s regions. Located at breweries, the program discussed the three attributes of Stay Work Play, each one focusing on retaining young people in the Granite State.

The Lakes Region listening session, held on a snowy night at Twin Barns Brewing in Meredith, included 22 people, many of whom were quick to dive into the two-hour long conversation.

“The program is very straightforward. Some themes and objectives we have is to create a space where young people feel they are authentically heard ... a safe space for people to connect on similar pain points, validate what they’re experiencing with the data we captured, and then platform their solutions in a way that’s extremely tangible,” Breton-Benfield said. “At every stop, we had new ideas come to the table that I certainly hadn’t heard at the Statehouse.”

Many participants in the Lakes Region session, including residents of Bristol, Laconia, Meredith, Tilton and Wolfeboro, were quick to emphasize the importance of tourism to the community, and as quick to admit they would leave because of the lack of affordable housing and starter homes, the region’s lack of career growth due to the seasonal economy, and the high cost and lack of available child care options.

“In the Lakes Region, the young people were saying that ‘We need more workforce housing.’ There were some business owners in the room who say that their employees live [near] Monadnock, and commute,” she said. “We heard a lot of stories about people who had temporary housing in the wintertime. We also heard of certain condo communities that young people can afford, but it’s a ghost town in the winter.”

Instead of coming after seasonal residents, Lakes Region young professionals were apt to embrace them.

“They were prioritizing balance or a recalibration,” she said, adding survey takers believe second homeowners shouldn’t be taxed out of their seasonal homes.

Three of the outputs included a regional “alignment” on housing policy, the prioritization of year-round workforce housing, and public investment in child care and education.

There needs to be “a more balanced approach to community development and housing development that doesn’t only prioritize who pays property taxes in the Lakes Region,” Breton-Benfield said. We need to “incentivize that kind of development.”

One Lakes Region resident said, “Affordable housing is consistently turned down here, directly affecting the workforce. It’s nearly impossible to find anyone under the age of 50 to be able to work full-time at my small business that lives within an hour from here.”

There are reasons young people want to stay, though, and those include the region’s natural beauty and slower pace of life, safety, and a strong sense of “local identity.”

Additional survey results discovered 58% of survey takers think New Hampshire is worse than other states for meeting people and dating, and 75% say it’s worse for nightlife and entertainment compared with other places to live.

“We are the second oldest state in the country, and the oldest workforce in the country; our human ecology is extremely out of balance, and we’re seeing young people question whether or not NH is a place to stay, work and play,” Breton-Benfield said.

It’s clear something needs to be done across the state.

“We do need a state-led strategy on housing, because it is a statewide issue. Every municipality is having conversations about housing,” she said.

Stay Work Play recently shared the 2026 Rising Stars Leadership Program. The intention is to spotlight rising leaders in New Hampshire — the future of New Hampshire, one could say.

“At a time when workforce challenges dominate headlines, this cohort is the headline,” said Breton-Benfield in the press release. “These are the individuals who employers across New Hampshire have identified as the next season of leadership. They are innovators, connectors, and community builders. The future of our state is in very good hands.”

While the Policy & Pints conversation surfaced the challenges impacting retention, Rising Stars directly plays into the solution, “empowering the very individuals who will shape workplace culture, influence policy, strengthen communities, and drive economic growth in the years ahead.”

“New Hampshire is competing in a 50-state race for talent. Retaining and elevating young professionals is not optional; it is essential to our economic vitality and long-term competitiveness.

“The Rising Stars Leadership Program reinforces a simple but powerful truth: when employers intentionally invest in young leaders, they send a signal that New Hampshire is not just a place to start a career, but a place to build one,” according to the release.

To read more about the Policy & Pints results or the quality of life survey, visit stayworkplay.org.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.