North Hempstead, New York

What is now the Town of North Hempstead was first settled by European explorers around 1643, as part of the Town of Hempstead.^[3][4]

The Census of Slaves, conducted in the Province of New York in 1755, contains a long list of enslaved individuals in Oyster Bay, including the hamlets of Jericho and what is now North Hempstead.^[5] It is followed by an additional list of "free Negroes Melattoes [people of Afro-European ancestry] and Mustees [people of Afro-Indigenous ancestry] Resideing within ye Township of Oysterbay that may probably Be Likely In case of Insurrections To be as Mischevious as ye Slaves."^[5] (Free individuals were not supposed to be reported for the Census; a local militia captain supplied it on his own initiative, with the expectation "that ye Other Captains in Oysterbay will acquaint Your Honour [governor of New York] of those Resideing in ye Other parts of ye Township.")^[5]

During the American Revolution the southern part of Hempstead was primarily Tory, while the northern part, having been settled by Yankees, supported the revolution.^[4] Following the war, the Town of North Hempstead was split off from Hempstead in 1784.^[4] North Hempstead became more affluent with the opening of the Long Island Rail Road through to Great Neck, and the inauguration of steamboat service from Manhattan in 1836.^[4]

The Town of North Hempstead is made up of 30 incorporated villages that claimed the right to set zoning restrictions to protect their rights and resources.^[6] No new villages have been created in the Town of North Hempstead since 1932, and prospective villages were further discouraged from incorporating when the county charter was revised in 1936, which denied zoning powers to future villages in the county.^[3][7]

There are also some unincorporated areas in the Town of North Hempstead which are not part of villages; these areas are instead governed by the Town of North Hempstead.^[8]

On September 11, 2025, the Town of North Hempstead formally dedicated its 9/11 memorial in Manhasset Valley Park; the memorial had been planned for over 10 years, and construction work had been completed earlier that year.^[9][10][11]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 69.2 square miles (179 km²), of which 53.5 square miles (139 km²) is land and 15.7 square miles (41 km²), or 22.62%, is water.

The western town line is the border of Queens County, New York, part of New York City. The northern town line, delineated by the Long Island Sound, is the border of Bronx County (also part of New York City) and Westchester County. The Town of Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove are its eastern neighbors, and the Town of Hempstead is its southern neighbor.

North Hempstead is the only town on Long Island that does not have a corresponding hamlet or village in its borders with the same name; Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County and the towns of Huntington, Babylon, Islip, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, Shelter Island and East Hampton in Suffolk County all have smaller neighborhoods with the same name.^[8]

As of the census^[13] of 2020, there were 237,639 people residing in 79,546 households in the town. There were 83,729 housing units, 76.5% of which were owner-occupied. The racial makeup of the town was 56% White, 23.1% Asian, 4.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 7.8% from other races, and 7.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.8% of the population.

There were 79,546 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 12.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 40.2% of all households had individuals 65 years of age or older.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18 and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.8 years. The population was 51.6% female.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $96,517, and the median income for a family was $115,697.^[14] Males had a median income of $60,094 versus $41,331 for females. The per capita income for the town was $41,621. About 3.1% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Between the 1990 census and the 2000 census, North Hempstead lost some population growth to Queens.^[15]

The Town of North Hempstead is governed by a seven-member board composed of six council members and the Town Supervisor. Council members are each elected by and represent a single district within the Town. The Supervisor is elected at-large and represents the entirety of the Town. In addition to Supervisor, there are two other town-wide positions elected at-large: Town Clerk and Receiver of Taxes.^[18]

• Northwell Health, the largest employer on Long Island, is based in Great Neck.
• The Americana Manhasset (and the "Miracle Mile", as a whole) – one of Long Island's most famous shopping malls and areas – is located on Northern Boulevard (NY 25A) in Manhasset.^[42]

  

• The North American headquarters of Sabena were located in a 36,000 square feet (3,300 m²) office building in Manhasset in North Hempstead. In April 2002 Knightsbridge Properties Corp. bought the building for $4.9 million. Due to the bankruptcies of Sabena and Swissair, the real estate deal took over a year to finish. During that month, the building was 30% occupied. Sabena was scheduled to move out of the building on May 10, 2002. The buyer planned to spend an additional $2 million to convert the building into a multi-tenant, Class A office and medical facility.^[43] At one time, Servisair's Americas offices were in Great Neck.^[44]
• Sumitomo Corporation operates its Lake Success Shared Services Center in an area in the town of North Hempstead, south of Lake Success.^[45]
• Systemax, Pall, Publishers Clearing House and NPD Group are based in Port Washington.

Top employers

According to North Hempstead's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,^[46] the top employers in the town are:

More information #, Employer ...

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	North Shore University Hospital	13,697
2	NYU Langone Hospital – Long Island	8,706
3	St. Francis Hospital	3,573
4	Northwell Health Home Care	1,001
5	Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty	950
6	Northwell Health Stern Family Center	576
7	Laffey Real Estate	560
8	Coffee Distributing Corp	390
9	Sunharbor Manor	220
10	Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation	197

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• List of towns in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in North Hempstead (town), New York