Commuting between New Hampshire and Massachusetts

The four corridors

Which corridor you sit on matters more than raw distance. Two towns the same number of miles from your office can behave very differently at 7:15 on a Tuesday depending on where they feed into the network.

• I-93 runs south from the Lakes Region through Concord and Manchester to the Massachusetts line at Salem — the spine of the state.
• The Everett Turnpike and Route 3 carry the Nashua–Merrimack–Manchester corridor and connect to Route 3 in Massachusetts.
• Route 101 is the east–west link between the Seacoast, Manchester and the Monadnock region.
• I-95 serves the Seacoast, from Portsmouth south toward the North Shore and Boston.

What public transport exists

Amtrak Downeaster trains serve Dover, Durham and Exeter in New Hampshire and Boston North Station. MBTA commuter rail is a separate network whose stations are in Massachusetts. Compare the actual schedule, station parking and the onward trip to your workplace before choosing a town. Scheduled coach services also connect parts of New Hampshire with Boston and Logan Airport.

Check the current operator timetables and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation park-and-ride listings for the specific lot you would use, and confirm parking capacity — the popular lots fill early.

Test the commute before you commit

• Drive it at your real departure time, in both directions, on a weekday.
• Drive it again in poor weather if you can — winter changes the answer.
• Price parking, tolls and fuel as a monthly figure and compare it with the housing difference.
• If you would use a coach, ride it once end to end, including the walk at the far end.
• Confirm any hybrid schedule with your employer in writing before you set your search radius.

Straight-line distance on our town pages and comparison tool is a research aid, not a drive time.

The tax question people ask first

Moving your home to New Hampshire does not by itself determine how your employment income is taxed. Massachusetts generally taxes non-residents on income sourced to work performed in Massachusetts, and the details depend on where you actually perform the work, your employer's arrangements, and current rules on both sides. Read the guide to moving from Massachusetts below and speak with a tax professional about your own facts.