NEW HAMPSHIRE INVENTION INDEX – MARCH 2025
The Invention Index measures a country’s or state’s innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth.
New Hampshire Invention Index March 2025: 1.36% (B- grade)
New Hampshire Invention Index over the last year:
Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).
New Hampshire Invention Index Scores
| Month | Invention Index Score |
|---|---|
| October 2024 | 1.83% (A grade) |
| November 2024 | 1.00% (C grade) |
| December 2024 | 1.42% (B grade) |
| January 2025 | 1.36% (B- grade) |
| February 2025 | 1.30% (B- grade) |
| March 2025 | 1.36% (B- grade) |
Analysis:
Comparison with Previous Months: In March 2025, the score remained stable at 1.36%, similar to February’s 1.30%. A significant drop occurred from October (1.83%) to November (1.00%), followed by more stable scores since then.
Long-Term Trends: Over the past six months, the trend shows a decline from 1.83% in October to 1.36% in March. This downward movement suggests a reduction in innovation or related activities.
Significant Changes: The sharpest change occurred between October and November 2024, with a 0.83% drop. This could be attributed to changes in state policies or external factors affecting innovation.
Contextualizing the Data: The March 2025 score is consistent with the scores in January and February, indicating a period of stability after the November drop. The overall trend suggests a decline in innovation, though the recent data points to a potential leveling off.
Discussion:
In March, the New Hampshire Invention Index scored a positive sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average but outperformed the downward trend for the year. This is in contrast to the prior 12 months, which experienced an upward trend. As the world continues to recover from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is unclear if there is any backlog of applications awaiting approval or if the department has fully caught up. If approvals are not yet caught up, we may see a decrease in approvals – and a reduced Invention Index – in the coming months/years as the state feels the full economic impact of companies closing and/or being forced to minimize their staffing and therefore minimize their R&D work hours.
Learn more about the Invention Index here.
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