LAND UTILIZATION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 41 



Household Income 



The combined agricultural and nonagricultural, direct and indirect 

 income from summer recreation markets represented a significant por- 

 tion of the gross income of year-round households in the three towns. 

 More than two-thirds of the households reporting earned income received 

 some portion thereof from recreation markets. One household in 1 2 

 received all of its income, and one in five received more than half, from 

 such sources (Table 17). Tuftonboro families received the largest in- 

 comes from summer markets and were most dependent upon this source 

 of livelihood. Nonfarm households derived larger incomes from recreation 

 markets than did farm households, indicating the lesser dependence of 

 agricultural incomes upon such sources. 11 "' The families most dependent 

 upon summer markets likewise were smaller than those less dependent, 

 showing the same relationship. 



Table 17. Distribution of year-round households according to 



per cent of gross income derived from summer recreation 



markets, directly and indirectly* 



* Includes only households with earned income. 



Town Government 



Summer homes are a valuable asset from the view point of local 

 government administration. They were among the highest producers 

 of revenue and the lowest consumers of public services in all three towns 

 —a relationship which has been noted consistently in earlier studies of 

 private recreation development. 1 ' 



Tax Base 



Summer homes for many years have been gaining importance as a 

 source of public revenue in New Hampshire rural towns. During the 



12 Only gross income data were ohtained. In the case of most day laborers, gross income was 

 coincident with net income for services rendered. In the case of farm operators and other non- 

 farm entrepreneurs, however, gross income covered items other than labor. The incomes of 

 different households therefore were not directly comparable, although the ratios of dependence 

 upon particular types of markets were. 



13 Wehrwein, G. S., and Parsons, K. IT., Recreation as a Land Use, Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 

 422, 1932; Rozman, David, Recreation and Forestry Uses of Land in Massachusetts, Mass. 

 Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 294, 1933; Hedrich. W". O., Recreational I'se of Northern Michigan Cut- 

 Over Lauds, Mich. Agr. Exp. Sta. Spec. Bull. 217. 1934: Gordon, W. R.. and Gilbert. B. E.. 

 Recreation and the Use of Land in Washington County, R. 1. Exp. Sta. Bull. 258, 1937; Blum. 

 J. C, Some Effects of an Expanding Summer Home Development on the Economy of a Rural 

 Connecticut Town, Univ. of Conn. Master"s Thesis, 1939. 



