Hempstead, New York facts for kids

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Hempstead, New York

Town

Town of Hempstead

Atlantic Beach view, downtown Freeport, Uniondale skyline, Wantagh Park

Flag

Nickname(s):

ToH

Location of Hempstead in Nassau County (right), and location of Nassau County in the State of New York (left)

First settled

1644; 381 years ago

Town Seat

Hempstead

Government

• Type

Town council

Area

• Total

191.77 sq mi (496.68 km²)

• Land

118.68 sq mi (307.39 km²)

• Water

73.08 sq mi (189.29 km²) 38.11%

Population

(2020)

• Total

793,409

• Rank

2nd in New York

• Density

6,685/sq mi (2,581/km²)

Time zone

UTC-5 (EST)

• Summer (DST)

UTC-4 (EDT)

ZIP code

11550

Area codes

516, 363

FIPS code

36-059-34000

Website

hempsteadny.gov

The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County, New York. It's located on Long Island, in the state of New York, United States. In 2020, about 793,409 people lived here. This makes Hempstead the most populated town in the entire United States! It holds most of the people living in Nassau County.

Hempstead is in the southwestern part of Nassau County. It's on the western half of Long Island. Inside the town, there are 22 villages and many smaller communities called hamlets. One of these villages is also called Hempstead.

If Hempstead were a city, it would be the second largest in New York State, right after New York City. It would be much bigger than cities like Buffalo. In fact, it would be one of the largest cities in the whole country! Hempstead is the most populated area outside of New York City in the New York metropolitan area.

You can also find Hofstra University's campus in Hempstead.

History of Hempstead
Geography of Hempstead
- Communities in Hempstead
  - Villages
  - Hamlets
Population and People
Economy in Hempstead
Transportation
State Parks in Hempstead
See also

History of Hempstead

Hempstead was first settled around 1644. This happened after English colonists, John Carman and Robert Fordham, made an agreement with the Lenape Indians in 1643. These settlers came from a new English colony called New Haven, which later became part of Connecticut.

Even though they were English, the Dutch government of New Netherland gave them a special permission to settle. This was after the settlers bought land from the local Native Americans. A painting in the Hempstead Village Hall shows this important moment.

In the 1640s, Dutch documents often called the town Heemstede. Some of the first 50 people who got land in Hempstead were Dutch. This suggests that Hempstead might have been named after a Dutch town or castle called Heemstede. These places are near the cities of Haarlem and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. However, it's also possible that the Dutch changed the name given by John Carman. He was born in 1606 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, where his family had owned land for centuries.

In 1664, the area became part of the new Province of New York. It started following strict rules called the Duke's Laws. These laws later helped shape the rules for many other colonies. For a while, Hempstead was even known as "Old Blue" because of these "Blue Laws".

During the American Revolution, people in Hempstead were divided. Those in the south supported the British (called Loyalists). Those in the north supported the American side. This split led to the creation of "North Hempstead" and "South Hempstead" in 1784. South Hempstead was later renamed Hempstead in 1796.

Richard Hewlett, who was born in Hempstead, fought with the British Army during the American Revolution. After the war, he and other Loyalists moved to a new area in what is now Canada, called New Brunswick. A settlement there was named Hampstead, near the Saint John River.

In 1898, the area of Queens became part of New York City. Then, in 1899, Queens County was split to create Nassau County. Because of this, some parts of the Town of Hempstead became part of the Borough of Queens.

In 2024, Hempstead took legal action against New York City. This was because New York City started charging a fee for driving into busy parts of Manhattan. Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin said this fee was unfair to people who commute from the suburbs to Manhattan.

Geography of Hempstead

The water tower at Jones Beach State Park centered over the Wantagh Parkway

Hempstead covers a total area of about 191.3 square miles (495.5 km²). About 120.0 square miles (310.7 km²) of this is land, and 71.4 square miles (184.8 km²) is water. This means a big part of Hempstead is covered by water!

The western edge of Hempstead borders Queens County in New York City. To the north, it borders the Town of North Hempstead and the Town of Oyster Bay. This border runs along the Long Island Rail Road and Old Country Road. The eastern border is also with the Town of Oyster Bay. To the south, Hempstead meets the Atlantic Ocean. Here you'll find beaches like Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach, Point Lookout, and Jones Beach. The City of Long Beach is also nearby.

Jones Beach State Park is a very famous beach on the east coast of the United States. It's located right here in Hempstead! Many people from Long Island and New York City love to visit this beach. About six million people visit Jones Beach every year.

Communities in Hempstead

The Town of Hempstead has 22 villages and 38 hamlets. A village is a small, self-governing community, while a hamlet is a smaller community that is part of a larger town and doesn't have its own local government.

Villages

Atlantic Beach
Bellerose
Cedarhurst
East Rockaway
Floral Park (a small part is in North Hempstead)
Freeport
Garden City (a small part is in North Hempstead)
Hempstead (village)
Hewlett Bay Park
Hewlett Harbor
Hewlett Neck
Island Park
Lawrence
Lynbrook
Malverne
Mineola (most of it is in North Hempstead)
New Hyde Park (partly with North Hempstead)
Rockville Centre
South Floral Park
Stewart Manor
Valley Stream
Woodsburgh

Hamlets

There are also a few areas that are not part of any village or hamlet. These include Jones Beach Island and some small islands in South Oyster Bay. Also, a small area between Lynbrook and Rockville Centre that only has Rockville Cemetery.

Population and People

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	3,828	—
1800	4,141	8.2%
1810	5,084	22.8%
1830	6,215	—
1840	7,609	22.4%
1850	8,811	15.8%
1860	12,376	40.5%
1870	13,999	13.1%
1880	18,164	29.8%
1890	23,756	30.8%
1900	27,066	13.9%
1910	44,297	63.7%
1920	70,790	59.8%
1930	186,735	163.8%
1940	259,318	38.9%
1950	432,506	66.8%
1960	740,738	71.3%
1970	801,592	8.2%
1980	738,517	−7.9%
1990	725,639	−1.7%
2000	755,924	4.2%
2010	759,757	0.5%
2020	793,409	4.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

In 2019, about 759,793 people lived in the Town of Hempstead. The population is very diverse. About 54% of residents were white (not Hispanic), 17.4% were Black or African American, and 6.2% were Asian. About 20.9% of the population was Hispanic or Latin American.

Most homes in Hempstead are owned by the people who live in them (about 80.8%). The average household has about 3.10 people. Also, about 22.7% of the people living in Hempstead were born in another country.

In 2019, the average value of a home owned by its resident was $455,700. The average rent for a rented home was $1,678 per month. The average income for a household in Hempstead was $111,072 per year. About 6.0% of the people lived at or below the poverty line.

Looking back at the census of 2010, there were 759,757 people living in the town. The population was spread out in terms of age. About 25.4% of residents were under 18 years old. About 14.1% were 65 years or older. The average age of people in Hempstead was 38 years.

Economy in Hempstead

Several companies have had their main offices in Hempstead. For example, Lufthansa, a big airline, used to have its United States headquarters in East Meadow. They moved there in the 1970s to save money. In 2019, this office had 206 employees. Later that year, the headquarters moved to Uniondale.

Swiss International Air Lines also had its U.S. office in Uniondale at one point. Before that, it was in Melville.

The company Snapple, known for its drinks, also had its main office in East Meadow. After they moved, the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island took over their old office space.

Transportation

Railroad lines

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has several train lines that run through Hempstead.

The Main Line goes through the northwestern part of the town. You can find stations from Bellerose to Merillon Avenue in Garden City.
The Hempstead Branch splits off from the Main Line in Floral Park. It has stations from Bellerose into Hempstead.
The West Hempstead Branch runs from Valley Stream northeast to West Hempstead.
Further south, the Babylon Branch runs from the New York City Line into parts of the Town of Oyster Bay. It has stations between Valley Stream and Seaford.
The Far Rockaway Branch also starts at Valley Stream and goes southwest through Inwood. It then goes back into New York City.
Just east of there, the Long Beach Branch separates at Lynbrook and goes southeast into Long Beach.

Bus service

Most bus services in Hempstead are provided by Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) routes. Some MTA bus routes also come into Nassau County from Queens. The City of Long Beach has its own separate bus service.