Living in Sag 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 moneyA typical home costs 12.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byPeconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, about 20 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBridgeport is about 49 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 Sag 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

Sag 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.

Tourist town. About 44% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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: $1,615,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Suffolk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $129,821U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $9,344 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 39%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 44%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 Sag 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, 2025 estimate: 2,8412020: 2,748
Median age: 51.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 35%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 64%U.S.: 36%

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 (25%); professional and business services (22%); finance, insurance and real estate (16%)
Unemployment rate: 0%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line: 3%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Peconic Bay Medical Center, Riverhead, NY, about 20 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

2 public schools in Sag Harbor, run by Sag Harbor 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: 77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 89%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: 23°F
July average high: 81°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 5 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 106 a year
Rain and melted snow: 49.8 inches a year
Snow: 27 inches a year
Elevation: 38 feet

Weather station: Bridgehampton (3 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

Peconic Bay Medical CenterEmergency room20

New Haven, CTCity of 139,00040

Bridgeport, CTMetro of 1 million49

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: Peconic Bay Medical Center, New Haven, 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

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the First Presbyterian Church, the Azurest Sag Harbor Hills and Ninevah Beach Subdivisions Historic District, the Sag Harbor Village District and Sag Harbor Village District (Boundary Increase). One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fire Island National Seashore28 miles

Read about Sag Harbor's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sag 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

North Haven, NY1,200 people, 2 miles
Noyack, NY4,800 people, 3 miles
Northwest Harbor, NY5,200 people, 4 miles
East Hampton North, NY6,000 people, 5 miles
East Hampton, NY1,600 people, 6 miles
Water Mill, NY2,800 people, 6 miles

Smaller places

Wainscott, NY (unincorporated)612 people, 3 miles
Bridgehampton, NY (unincorporated)1,531 people, 4 miles
Shelter Island, NY (unincorporated)2,125 people, 4 miles
Sagaponack, NY752 people, 4 miles
Shelter Island Heights, NY (unincorporated)1,230 people, 6 miles
Amagansett, NY (unincorporated)821 people, 8 miles
Greenport West, NY (unincorporated)2,463 people, 8 miles
Peconic, NY (unincorporated)848 people, 10 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.