New Hampshire is not the most free state. Not even close. Florida is great but there are definitely freer states out there (licensing program for practicing 2nd Amendment rights, for one thing).
I spent almost 20 years in NH before returning to Texas.
NH talks a good game and is probably the best of the New England states, but is overrun with liberals, laws, fees and taxes disguised as fees. At the local level it is filled with nick-picky you can’t do that regulations and strongly union (despite what they like to claim) due to the refugees from border states.
The CATO institute is typical of all big city / DC folks - stuck in a bubble with no real world experience.
NH is a Constitutional Carry state.
What licensing program for guns does NH have? I haven’t encountered any.
NH in the laate 60’s and early 70’s was the epitome of freedom. Meldrim Thomson was the Govenor and Bill Loeb ran the states largest (conservative) news rag. Miss my old home state and it sucked watching it get over-run by invaders from Massachusetts.
It’s all about the choice of metrics by which the rankings are set. For me, there is nothing about a New Hampshire nestled in the midst of some of the most leftist states would never be, could never be, number one in freedom.