Oyster Bay is a hamlet and census-designated place located on the North Shore of Long Island in Nassau County, New York. The town is the easternmost of the three towns that make up Nassau County and the only town in the County stretching from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island.
Oyster Bay has a total area of 169.5 square miles (439 km). A whopping 38.42% or 65.1 square miles (169 km) is made up of water, while 104.4 square miles (270 km) is land-based terrain. It stretches from Long Island Sound to South Oyster Bay and even further out to the Atlantic Ocean!
Population
Based on recent data, in 2020 the population of Oyster Bay, NY was 6.16k with a median age of 49.6 years old. The median household income was $75,500. It is worth noting that between 2019 and 2020, the population of Oyster Bay, NY grew by 5.55%, going from 5,836 to 6,160 people.
However, during that same time period, there was a decrease of -21.5% in the median household income, which went from $96,187 to $75,500.
Racial / Ethnic Makeup
75.5% non-Hispanic White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 12.5% Asian, 2.0% from two or more races, and 8.1% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.
Median Income
$99,873 for households, $115,095 for families, and $35,895 per capita
Poverty Rate
0.67% for those who worked full-time for the past 12 months, 3.92% for those working part-time, and 8.77% for those who did not work. As per race, 8.29% of the Black population is below the poverty level, while 3.46% is for Whites.
Citizenship
The largest percentage of non-US citizens is from Asia
Language
Asian and Pacific Island languages are spoken by 10.94% of the population.
Population Density
1122% higher than New York City
History
Oyster Bay has a long history, first mentioned in the journal of Dutch Captain David Peterson de Vries in 1639. Colonized by both the Dutch and English, it served as a boundary between the two. Quakers escaping persecution from Dutch authorities in New Amsterdam also chose Oyster Bay as their home.
Oyster Bay played an important role in the Revolutionary War as Raynham Hall was owned by the irredentist Townsend family and served as a British headquarters for six months from 1778 to 1779.
Even Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, had a summer home here. This small town is a powerful hamlet that has been around for many centuries now, leaving its mark on history in more ways than one.
Cost of Living
| LIVING EXPENSE | OYSTER BAY | NEW YORK | NATIONAL AVERAGE |
| Overall | 165 | 119 | 100 |
| Services | 120 | 112 | 100 |
| Groceries | 105 | 110 | 100 |
| Health | 118 | 102 | 100 |
| Housing | 269 | 144 | 100 |
| Transportation | 118 | 105 | 100 |
| Utilities | 131 | 99 | 100 |
Source: Home Snacks – Oyster Bay Cost of Living
Economy
Oyster Bay, NY employs nearly three thousand people. Educational Services, Retail Trade & Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employ the greatest number of people.
The highest-paying industries are Finance & Insurance, Real Estate/Rental/Leasing, and Transportation/Warehousing/Utilities.
Common job groups include Education Instruction and Library Occupations, Management Occupations, and Sales and Related Occupations.
Healthcare
In 2020, nearly all of the population of Oyster Bay Cove, NY had health coverage. Of those who did, most (61.4%) had employee plans, followed by non-group plans (15.7%), Medicare (19.7%), and Medicaid (2.11%) – ensuring that everyone in the community has access to the healthcare they need.
Education
Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District was created on July 1, 1960. It includes the hamlets of Oyster Bay and East Norwich, as well as Centre Island, Oyster Bay Cove, Cove Neck, and portions of Mill Neck, Muttontown, Laurel Hollow, and Upper Brookville.
The school district has three schools: Roosevelt Elementary School (K-2), James H. Vernon Middle School (3-6), and Oyster Bay High School (7-12). Schools offer a well-rounded curriculum that focuses on both academic achievement and extracurricular activities to help their student’s individual growth.
Transportation
Nassau Inter-County Express bus routes and Suffolk County Transit services provide reliable transport options within the town of Oyster Bay. For a longer journey, access the Oyster Bay Branch of the Long Island Rail Road for train services to nearby areas. Get where you’re going quickly and easily with these convenient transport methods.
Points of Interest
Here are some points of interest in the town:
- Sagamore Hill National Historic Site is the former home and summer White House of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, now open to the public as a museum in the village of Cove Neck near Oyster Bay.
- Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park & Coe Hall House Museum is situated in Oyster Bay and spans over 400 acres of greenhouses, gardens, and natural habitats with their very own historic house museum.
- Visit the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum for exhibits on Long Island’s railroad history located in Oyster Bay.
- Raynham Hall Museum tells the story of its former owners, the Townsend family from the American Revolution period that lived in the same house located in Oyster Bay.
- Garvies Point Museum & Preserve located in nearby Glen Cove features exhibits on Long Island and New York State geology as well as Long Island Native American culture and archeology.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a private non-profit institution focused on research in cancer, neuroscience, plant genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics with community tours during spring, summer, and fall based out of nearby Cold Spring Harbor town.
- The Bayville Historical Museum gives visitors insight into various parts of local history through its numerous displays including the shellfish industry or country store found in Bayview village itself.
- Old Bethpage Village Restoration offers an authentically recreated mid-19th century village near Old Bethpage with 51 buildings moved here from different parts of Long Island along with 209 sprawling acres hosting arts & crafts demonstrations for your delight.
- Hicksville Gregory Museum has one of the largest rock & mineral collections on all of Long Island plus more than 5000 butterfly moths specimens with shells & fossils exhibited inside Heitz Place Courthouse circa 1895.

