Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Settled in 1905, this town now has 18,221 residents.
Lake Ronkonkoma’s typical rent is $2,170 a month, above both the New York town median ($1,101 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Lake Ronkonkoma’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, where New York’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. The biggest place to walk is Lily Ponds Park & Nature Preserve, 103 acres with 2.5 miles of trail. We don’t grade Lake Ronkonkoma yet; the figures below are still real.
Where Lake Ronkonkoma’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census counts: 19,701 in 2000, 18,619 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Ronkonkoma. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaCiti Field
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaEtihad Park
39 mi City parkFlushing Meadows–Corona Park
26 mi Stadium & arenaNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
40 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
39 mi LandmarkUnisphereCiti Field: Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Etihad Park: Bananza76, CC0 · Flushing Meadows–Corona Park: Flapane, Public domain · Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum: iMatthew // talk //, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Unisphere: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Ronkonkoma is unincorporated, so Suffolk County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Lake Ronkonkoma.
For Lake Ronkonkoma, the natural-hazard score from FEMA is 15 of 100. 33 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1978. FEMA puts 64% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 12% to hurricanes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based in Lake Ronkonkoma grew to 3,767 in 2023, 201 more than in 2013. Most working residents leave Lake Ronkonkoma for work: only 3% work in town. In Lake Ronkonkoma, the mean commuting time is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Brookhaven (21%), New York (19%) and Islip (19%).
| Lake Ronkonkoma | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $102,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The town’s midsummer high comes in at 84°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Lake Ronkonkoma, 32% have high blood pressure. Of 32 CDC measures, Lake Ronkonkoma beats the New York average on 6 and trails it on 1. 40% of adults in Lake Ronkonkoma sleep under 7 hours; 30% feel lonely.
| Lake Ronkonkoma | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 21% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lake Ronkonkoma | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.4% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.6% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
New York has two in five adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 34%. Age groups here sit within 4 points of the New York average. The share of residents in Lake Ronkonkoma who are under 18: 20%.
| Lake Ronkonkoma | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.6 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Lake Ronkonkoma | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.8% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.8% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.7% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Across 6 parks and preserves: 5.6 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Lake Ronkonkoma: 6, covering 155 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lily Ponds Park & Nature Preserve | 2.5 mi | 103 |
| 2. Lake Ronkonkoma County Park | 0.4 mi | 18 |
| 3. Raynor Beach County Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
On the market in Lake Ronkonkoma: a median 26 days to sell. 70% of Lake Ronkonkoma households own their home. Bidding over the asking price: 60% of homes sold here.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Ronkonkoma
About 5 of every 100 Lake Ronkonkoma residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States
Lake Ronkonkoma is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,619 at the time of the 2020 census. Located on the north and east sides of the eponymous lake, Lake Ronkonkoma is mainly located within the Town of Brookhaven, with the northwestern section being located within the Town of Smithtown.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Lake Ronkonkoma.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Ronkonkoma | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lake Grove | #233 | B+ | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Islip | #178 | A− | D− | — | A− | A− |
| Ronkonkoma | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brookhaven | #295 | B | D− | — | B | A− |
| Nesconset | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Centereach | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smithtown | #76 | A | D− | — | A | A |
Lake Grove, Islip, Brookhaven and Smithtown report no FBI crime data of their own. Lake Ronkonkoma, Ronkonkoma, Nesconset and Centereach aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lake Ronkonkoma with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Lake Ronkonkoma yet; the figures below are still real.
2 notable people were born here, including Jumbo Elliott and Rob Weingartner.
