Nassau County, NY

County Profile

1,389,591 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Nassau County, NY.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

76out of 100
Area Score
Top 3% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 11% of 1,463 counties measured77
SchoolsTop 1% of 1,377 counties measured98
Growth908th of 1,453 counties measured43
Housing affordability1,315th of 1,462 counties measured55
ClimateTop 43% of 1,463 counties measured70
Physical resilienceTop 4% of 1,463 counties measured93
AccessTop 8% of 1,463 counties measured97
Economic stabilityTop 5% of 1,463 counties measured93
The quick read

Nassau County ranks in the top 11% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $146,202.

Public schools test above most of the state: 77% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 1% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 33% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 4.2 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
1,389,591
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$146,202
Top 1% nationally
Density
4,884/sq mi
284.5 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Nassau County
New York
Nearest major airport
JFK
12 mi · John F Kennedy Intl
Median home value
$684,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 65% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.1% over the past year, to 704,050 employed residents.

50% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 97% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $146,202 is higher than in 99% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$111,01396th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$110,21797th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,4722024 ACS 5-Year$146,202Top 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$7292024 ACS 5-Year$64,198Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$105,078Top 3%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%Top 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year38.5 minBottom 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year49.7%Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year60.7%3rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026704,050Top 2%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.1%Top 19%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026731,02798th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year82.6%Top 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 33%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 35%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%88th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.02.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024146k127k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $146,202 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides644,700$39,680
Retail Salespersons202,080$38,280
Registered Nurses197,740$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners183,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers177,850$157,000
Cashiers173,830$35,950

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

77% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 73% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.3 students for every full-time teacher across 310 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
313
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.3
across 310 of them
Math proficiency
76.8%
Top 1% in New York
Reading proficiency
72.8%
Top 2% in New York
The 12 largest of 313 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Syosset Senior High SchoolSYOSSET CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT2,40010.698%100%
Freeport High SchoolFREEPORT UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT2,24413.489%95%
Uniondale High SchoolUNIONDALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT2,10613.090%95%
Academy Charter School · charterACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL2,00316.3——
Hempstead High SchoolHEMPSTEAD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT1,87928.077%77%
Hicksville High SchoolHICKSVILLE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT1,82512.784%96%
Nassau BocesNASSAU BOCES1,7977.2——
Plainview-Old Bethpage/jfk High SchoolPLAINVIEW-OLD BETHPAGE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT1,72012.6100%100%
New Hyde Park Memorial High SchoolSEWANHAKA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT1,71114.482%79%
Farmingdale Senior High SchoolFARMINGDALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT1,70411.293%95%
School 7-Oceanside Senior High SchoolOCEANSIDE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT1,66811.390%97%
H Frank Carey High SchoolSEWANHAKA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT1,64414.786%80%

31.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division is up 48% over five years, and up 6.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,747, some 22% above the $2,252 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,747 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $109,900 a year, about 75% of the median household income here of $146,202.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,252 a month.

A median home at $684,700 costs 4.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $164,310, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
112.6

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
32.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,747
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,252
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$684,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Nassau County’s median household income of $146,202, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2023112.6Bottom 4%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+6.4%94th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+47.7%63rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+96.2%51st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year4.2Bottom 10%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year81.9%89th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3532024 ACS 5-Year479,04499th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,379Bottom 1%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,563Bottom 2%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,747Bottom 2%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$412024 ACS 5-Year$2,252Bottom 1%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,8332024 ACS 5-Year$684,70098th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,1302024 ACS 5-Year$164,310Top 1%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year32.6%Bottom 11%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5132024 ACS 5-Year3,88792nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%21st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%5th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,2582024 ACS 5-Year20,87897th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

43/ 100
Ranks 908 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 1,392,438 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 766 units authorized in 2025, 7% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Nassau County lost about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $111,013, close to the $110,217 of households that moved out.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
962
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 12% nationally
Year over year
+22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
35.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

202020212022202320241392k1386k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
21%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$111,013
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$110,217
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Queens County, NY 20,494 people · 44% of arrivals
  2. Suffolk County, NY 6,378 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Kings County, NY 4,754 people · 10% of arrivals
  4. New York County, NY 2,640 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  5. Bronx County, NY 721 people · 1.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Suffolk County, NY 11,644 people · 22% of departures
  2. Queens County, NY 7,425 people · 14% of departures
  3. New York County, NY 2,625 people · 5.0% of departures
  4. Kings County, NY 2,141 people · 4.1% of departures
  5. Palm Beach County, FL 1,556 people · 3.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k653
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−43%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 38.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 31, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FARMINGDALE AP, 9.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals38.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year312024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
31
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

93 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 96% of measured US counties.

Ice stormModerate
Coastal floodingElevated
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneElevated
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, inland flooding, lightning, strong wind, heat wave, cold wave, tornado, wildfire, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Nassau County records 0.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 2.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.3 per 100,000 residents in Nassau County.

Homicide
0.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
2.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
5.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Nassau County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest John F Kennedy Intl at 12 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year94.8%Top 3%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle12 miTop 12%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%Top 5%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
John F Kennedy IntlJFK12 mi14,511 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR30 mi9,999 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF60 mi11,817 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
76
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.