{"id":6221,"date":"2023-07-23T13:55:51","date_gmt":"2023-07-23T13:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=6221"},"modified":"2026-08-21T08:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:37:12","slug":"coos-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/coos-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Coos County, New Hampshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coos County is a county in New Hampshire, United States, occupying the state’s entire northern tip along the Canadian border. It had a population of 31,268 at the 2020 census and covers 1,830 square miles (4,740 km2) centred near 44°37′N 71°20′W — New Hampshire’s largest county by land area and its least populated.<\/p>\n

Lancaster is the county seat, and its postal code is 03584. The county holds 1 city (Berlin), 18 towns, and several unincorporated townships administered directly by the county rather than by local government. Coos County sits in the Eastern time zone.<\/p>\n

Towns & Villages in Coos County<\/h2>\n

Coos County’s 19 incorporated municipalities are almost all New England-style towns, which double as the local government unit — there is no separate layer of civil townships here. A handful of unincorporated villages sit inside those towns and carry their own ZIP code or postal identity. The table below lists incorporated towns and the city of Berlin first, followed by named villages with the town they sit in.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nParent Town<\/th>\nPop.<\/th>\nZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Berlin<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n9,425<\/td>\n03570<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lancaster<\/td>\nTown · seat<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n3,218<\/td>\n03584<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gorham<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n2,698<\/td>\n03581<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Whitefield<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n2,490<\/td>\n03598<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Colebrook<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n2,084<\/td>\n03576<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Northumberland<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n2,126<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Milan<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n1,358<\/td>\n03588<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jefferson<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n1,043<\/td>\n03583<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pittsburg<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n800<\/td>\n03592<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stewartstown<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n813<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dalton<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n933<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stratford<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n662<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Columbia<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n659<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stark<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n478<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shelburne<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n353<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dummer<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n306<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Randolph<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n328<\/td>\n03593<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clarksville<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n294<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Errol<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n298<\/td>\n03579<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carroll<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Groveton<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nNorthumberland<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n03582<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Stratford<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nStratford<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n03590<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West Stewartstown<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nStewartstown<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n03597<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Twin Mountain<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nCarroll<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n03595<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bretton Woods<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nCarroll<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n03575<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West Milan<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nMilan<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dixville Notch<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\nColebrook\/Dixville<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Berlin is a city, not a town — it split off from the town of Berlin’s earlier form under a city charter, and it is the county’s population centre even though Lancaster holds the county seat. Dixville Notch straddles the boundary between the town of Colebrook and the unincorporated township of Dixville; both names are used locally.<\/p>\n

Unincorporated Townships<\/h2>\n

Coos County has an unusual feature for New England: several “unincorporated townships” with no town government at all, administered directly by the county. Most have only a handful of year-round residents or none. The largest by 2020 population:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Township<\/th>\nPop. (2020)<\/th>\nNotes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Wentworth Location<\/td>\n28<\/td>\nNorthernmost organized place before the Canadian border crossing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Millsfield<\/td>\n25<\/td>\nEast of Errol, mostly timberland<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cambridge<\/td>\n16<\/td>\nBorders Success and Success Pond<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Success<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nNamed for the ship Success<\/em>, per local tradition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dixville<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSite of Dixville Notch and the former Balsams resort<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Second College Grant, Sargent’s Purchase, Green’s Grant, Low and Burbank’s Grant, Martin’s Location, Erving’s Location, Odell, and several other named grants and purchases in the county have effectively no year-round population and are omitted from the table above for lack of a verifiable current count.<\/p>\n

ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n