Nashua is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. As of the 2000 census, Nashua had a total population of 86,605, making it the second largest city in the state after Manchester. The estimated population of Nashua in 2007 was 87,150.
Built around the now-departed textile industry, in recent decades it has been swept up in southern New Hampshire's economic expansion as part of the Boston region. Nashua was twice named "Best Place to Live in America" in annual surveys by Money magazine. It is the only city to get the No. 1 ranking two times—in 1987 and 1997. Nashua is currently ranked #87, as of summer 2006. In 2007, the Morgan Quitno Press ranked Nashua as the 27th safest city in the country.
The eastern boundary of Nashua is formed by the Merrimack River, and the city is drained by the Nashua River and Salmon Brook, tributaries of the Merrimack. The Nashua River roughly bisects the city. The highest point in Nashua is Long Hill in the southern part of the city, at 418 feet above sea level.
