Strafford County, New Hampshire

Strafford County
County
Strafford County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°15′30″N 70°58′34″W / 43.258289°N 70.976105°W / 43.258289; -70.976105
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Founded	1771
Named for	William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford
Seat	Dover
Largest city	Dover
Area
• Total	382.6 sq mi (991 km2)
• Land	367.6 sq mi (952 km2)
• Water	15.0 sq mi (39 km2)  3.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	130,889
• Estimate  (2022)	132,275
• Density	356.1/sq mi (137.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.strafford.nh.us

Strafford County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,889.^[1] Its county seat is Dover.^[2] Strafford County was one of the five original counties identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was named after William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford in the mistaken belief that he was the ancestor of governor John Wentworth – although they were distantly related, William had no descendants. The county was organized at Dover in 1771. In 1840, the size of the original county was reduced with the creation of Belknap County.

Strafford County constitutes a portion of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as of the greater Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area. It is estimated to be New Hampshire's county with the highest percentage growth over the 2010–2019 period.^[3]