Living in Lake Success, 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 moneyA typical home costs 6.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Lake Success itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town8 public schools: 5 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byLong Island Jewish Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 14 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 Lake Success 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

Lake Success 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: $1,555,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Nassau County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $244,079U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 93%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 11%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Lake Success 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, 2025 estimate: 2,8492020: 2,821
Median age: 46.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 67%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 5%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%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: Schools, health care and social services (33%); professional and business services (16%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

8 public schools in Lake Success, run by Great Neck Union Free School District and New York City Geographic District #26.

Colleges in or next to town: Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine (under 1,000 students).

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: 98%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: 27°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 16 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 83 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.3 inches a year
Snow: 18 inches a year
Elevation: 209 feet

Weather station: Mineola (5 miles away). 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

Hempstead, NYCity of 60,0006

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million14

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: Hempstead, New York.

Nassau 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Gateway National Recreation Area10 miles
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site11 miles
Hamilton Grange National Memorial13 miles
General Grant National Memorial14 miles
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site14 miles

Campus life. Check Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Lake Success's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lake Success?

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

University Gardens, NY4,100 people, 1 miles
Manhasset Hills, NY3,700 people, 2 miles
Thomaston, NY2,800 people, 2 miles
Manhasset, NY7,700 people, 2 miles
North New Hyde Park, NY14,200 people, 2 miles
Great Neck Plaza, NY7,900 people, 2 miles

Smaller places

Russell Gardens, NY900 people, 1 mile
Great Neck Gardens, NY (unincorporated)1,492 people, 2 miles
Saddle Rock Estates, NY (unincorporated)485 people, 3 miles
Harbor Hills, NY (unincorporated)458 people, 3 miles
Bellerose Terrace, NY (unincorporated)2,006 people, 3 miles
Plandome Manor, NY823 people, 3 miles
Greenvale, NY (unincorporated)1,113 people, 6 miles
Malverne Park Oaks, NY (unincorporated)635 people, 6 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.