With slowing vaccination rates and the emergence of the Delta variant, COVID-19 continues to spread through the United States. To date, 34,811,492 Americans have been infected with the virus — and 608,288 have died as a result. On a per capita basis, the U.S. has one of the highest known infections rates in the world.
In the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan area, which covers parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, a total of 471,006 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 9,789 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — below the national rate of 10,640 cases per 100,000 people.
The lower than average per capita COVID-19 infection rate across Boston-Cambridge-Newton is being driven by one area in particular.
The broader Boston metro area comprises seven counties or county equivalents — and of them, Strafford County in New Hampshire has the fewest COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 10,193 infections in Strafford County, or 7,949 for every 100,000 people.
Not only does Strafford County have the lowest per capita infection rate in the Boston metro area, it also has a relatively low per capita fatality rate.
There have been a total of 78 coronavirus-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Strafford County, below the 243 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of August 3, 2021.
| Rank | Geography | COVID cases per 100,000 people | Total cases | Deaths per 100,000 people | Total deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strafford County, NH | 7,949 | 10,193 | 78 | 100 |
| 2 | Norfolk County, MA | 7,981 | 55,726 | 259 | 1,810 |
| 3 | Rockingham County, NH | 8,086 | 24,674 | 88 | 270 |
| 4 | Middlesex County, MA | 8,600 | 137,187 | 238 | 3,794 |
| 5 | Plymouth County, MA | 9,753 | 49,949 | 284 | 1,455 |
| 6 | Suffolk County, MA | 11,930 | 94,461 | 235 | 1,857 |
| 7 | Essex County, MA | 12,652 | 98,816 | 309 | 2,411 |
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