The biggest slice of New Hampshire’s stimulus pie is the checks to individuals. The Congressional Research Service estimated more than 597,000 people in New Hampshire will qualify for a check, totaling almost $1.5 billion. People making $75,000 or less each year are set to get $1,400 checks in the coming days, with those making up to $80,000 getting smaller checks.

People also will see money from the stimulus bill through tax credits, such as the earned income tax credits and child tax credits included in the bill. Those expanded tax credits could benefit about 222,000 children in New Hampshire, according to an estimate from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, which studies policies aimed at helping low-income people.

The center estimated the tax credits would boost family incomes enough to lift 8,000 New Hampshire children out of poverty.

The American Rescue Plan is the first of the three COVID-19 relief bills to include aid to local government — cities, towns and counties.

Municipalities can use the money to offset losses from lower-than-expected tax revenue in 2020, to invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure — or to make grants to small businesses hurt by the pandemic and to nonprofits serving those most in need.

The money is divided between towns and cities using a formula that takes into account a city’s population and other factors like the proportion of residents in poverty and how quickly the city or town is growing.

Manchester is estimated to receive more than $44 million and Nashua more than $16.5 million. The smallest grant for a New Hampshire town, just over $4,500, will go to Hart’s Location.

Villages within towns are expected to get funds of their own, according to the New Hampshire Municipal Association, but it is not yet clear how those funds will be divided.

New Hampshire’s 10 counties will receive a total of $264 million, with the largest sum, $81 million, going to Hillsborough County. Rockingham County will get more than $60 million, and Coos County is set to receive just over $6 million.

New Hampshire also will get money for public and private schools and for child care. Residents will be able to access aid to help people stay in their homes and make utility payments.

The Congressional Research Service projected New Hampshire public schools will receive about $350 million, and private schools will get $6 million. Schools can use the money for expenses related to reopening or to help students catch up after a year of pandemic-related learning loss.

But that money has strings attached. Sen. Maggie Hassan wrote an amendment to the American Rescue Plan that will require schools to produce in-person reopening plans within 30 days of accepting the money.

For younger children, the bill provides grants for child care programs in New Hampshire expected to total $78 million, and the Head Start pre-kindergarten programs are estimated to receive more than $1.8 million.

States, school districts and municipalities will have until the end of 2024 to spend the money — far more time than states had to spend CARES Act funds. After the March 2020 stimulus bill was signed into law, New Hampshire had until the end of 2020 to spend its $1.25 billion from the CARES Act.

A previous version of this story had an incorrect total for the amount of stimulus money earmarked for New Hampshire.

jgrove@unionleader.com