Living in Cold Spring Harbor, New York: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Cold Spring Harbor to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byNs/lij Hs Huntington Hospital in Huntington, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBridgeport is about 26 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Cold Spring Harbor meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Cold Spring Harbor runs into the built-up area around New York (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $1,587,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Suffolk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $250,000 or moreU.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 94%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Cold Spring Harbor alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 3,220The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 40.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 77%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Professional and business services (25%); schools, health care and social services (23%); finance, insurance and real estate (21%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 29%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 1%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ns/lij Hs Huntington Hospital, Huntington, NY, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

5 public schools in Cold Spring Harbor, run by Cold Spring Harbor Central School District and Huntington Union Free School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 87%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 97%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 24°F
July average high: 83°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 11 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 88 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.3 inches a year
Snow: 18 inches a year
Elevation: 197 feet

Weather stations: Centerport (5 miles away) and Mineola (12 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Ns/lij Hs Huntington HospitalEmergency room2

Hempstead, NYCity of 60,00014

Bridgeport, CTMetro of 1 million26

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Ns/lij Hs Huntington Hospital, Hempstead, Bridgeport.

Suffolk County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Goose Hill Road Historic District, the Harbor Road Historic District, the Main Street Historic District and the Shore Road Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site2 miles
Fire Island National Seashore18 miles
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site19 miles
Gateway National Recreation Area24 miles
Hamilton Grange National Memorial26 miles

Read about Cold Spring Harbor's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cold Spring Harbor?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Laurel Hollow, NY1,900 people, 1 miles
Oyster Bay Cove, NY2,300 people, 3 miles
Halesite, NY2,700 people, 3 miles
Huntington, NY19,900 people, 3 miles
Woodbury (Nassau County), NY9,300 people, 3 miles
West Hills, NY5,400 people, 3 miles

Smaller places

Cove Neck, NY293 people, 3 miles
Centre Island, NY394 people, 4 miles
Eatons Neck, NY (unincorporated)1,173 people, 5 miles
Asharoken, NY624 people, 6 miles
Matinecock, NY854 people, 6 miles
Greenvale, NY (unincorporated)1,113 people, 10 miles
Plandome Manor, NY823 people, 13 miles
Great Neck Gardens, NY (unincorporated)1,492 people, 15 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.