Welcome to Portsmouth ...
The coastal city of Portsmouth is located in Rockingham County<1>.
Portsmouth was established in 1630.
When the people of Portsmouth refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Portsmouthite<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Portsmouth has a population of 21,433 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Portsmouth is 50 feet [15 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Portsmouth lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Portsmouth: (603)
Websites for Portsmouth ...
Official Website: https://cityofportsmouth.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Portsmouth had an population of 21,433 people. This is an increase of 3.15% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 3.12% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Portsmouth had a population of 20,779 people (or 7.04% of the total population of Rockingham County). This makes Portsmouth the county's 4th most populous community.
The population of Portsmouth represents 1.58% of the population of New Hampshire (which has 1,316,470 people), making it the state's 13th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 20,779 people, the population of Portsmouth has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 20,784 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Portsmouth.
Communities Also Named Portsmouth ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 9 communities that are also named Portsmouth - they are located in Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Rhode Island and Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Portsmouth.
Communities near Portsmouth ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Portsmouth.
- Dover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Dover is located in Strafford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32,443 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dover <5>
- Rochester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Rochester is located in Strafford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,719 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochester <5>
- Newburyport
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburyport
- Newburyport is located in Essex County (MA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,495 people
- Amesbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesbury
- Amesbury is located in Essex County (MA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,537 people
- Durham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Durham is located in Strafford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,441 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durham <5>
- Hampton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Hampton is located in Rockingham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,950 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hampton <5>
- Exeter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
- Exeter is located in Rockingham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exeter <5>
- York
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for York have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- York is located in York County (ME)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,329 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York <5>
- Somersworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersworth
- Somersworth is located in Strafford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,286 people
- Former names for Somersworth:
- Great Falls
- Summersworth
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Somersworth <5>
- Wells
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Wells is located in York County (ME)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,819 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Portsmouth. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Portsmouth.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Portsmouth. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portsmouth.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Portsmouth. Our list includes 99 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Portsmouth.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Portsmouth ...
Looking for more information about Portsmouth? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Portsmouth, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Portsmouth.
Adding Portsmouth to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Portsmouth in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Portsmouth was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Portsmouth post office opened in 1775.
We also found Portsmouth in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Portsmouth.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Portsmouth: https://cityofportsmouth.com/
The official website for Rockingham County: www.co.rockingham.nh.us/
The official website for State of New Hampshire: https://www.nh.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of New Hampshire's counties, including Rockingham, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Portsmouth refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Portsmouth may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Portsmouth. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Portsmouth - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |