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Towns / New York

Southold, New York

Southold is an unincorporated community of about 6,400 people in Suffolk County, New York. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 6.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Bridgeport, is about 41 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
6,397
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$844,700
Suffolk County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$128,822
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Riverhead, NY
To Bridgeport
41 mi
straight line

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 6.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPeconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBridgeport is about 41 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 Southold 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

Tourist town. About 1 in 3 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, 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
$844,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Suffolk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,237 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$128,822U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$7,964 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
35%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 Southold 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
6,397The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
48.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
54%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

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 (19%); professional and business services (15%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%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: Peconic Bay Medical Center, Riverhead, NY, about 15 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 Southold, run by Southold 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
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%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
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
105 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.8 inches a year
Snow
27 inches a year
Elevation
32 feet

Weather stations: Mattituck (7 miles away) and Bridgehampton (10 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

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 Fort Terry Historic District and the Southold Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fire Island National Seashore26 miles
  • Weir Farm National Historical Park55 miles
  • Sagamore Hill National Historic Site57 miles

Read about Southold's history on Wikipedia.

Know Southold?

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

Smaller places

  • Peconic, NY (unincorporated)848 people, 3 miles
  • Greenport West, NY (unincorporated)2,463 people, 3 miles
  • Shelter Island Heights, NY (unincorporated)1,230 people, 4 miles
  • New Suffolk, NY (unincorporated)298 people, 5 miles
  • East Marion, NY (unincorporated)1,331 people, 7 miles
  • Shelter Island, NY (unincorporated)2,125 people, 7 miles
  • Laurel, NY (unincorporated)1,360 people, 9 miles
  • Bridgehampton, NY (unincorporated)1,531 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.