Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1849, counts 25,770 residents.
Plenty to like here, at a price. Its standout strength is health: residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Rockville Centre’s overall A+ puts it 37th of 745 in New York. On that grade it does better than 96% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $979K, 9.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. The town is home to Molloy University. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Rockville Centre's public schools beat 91% of New York towns on state tests and graduation.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results.
Where Rockville Centre beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Rockville Centre is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 5%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,882 in 1880, 26,016 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 5 maps from 1897 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rockville Centre. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw19 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw19 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw19 mi BeachConey IslandCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rockville Centre, and how to reach them.
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 Rockville Centre.
Rockville Centre trades workers with New York City and other neighbors and has less tooth loss than most of New York, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New York.
At 9.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $979K) costs more against local pay than in 93% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Oceanside is next at $795K.
A typical home in Rockville Centre is worth about $979,000, up 6.4% in a year, 87% above the New York typical home. The typical rent for Rockville Centre comes to $1,881 a month, above both the New York town median ($1,098 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). A home in Rockville Centre typically sold within 26 days of listing.
| Rockville Centre | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,881 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with New York is tooth loss: 6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.8% statewide.
The share of adults in Rockville Centre who feel lonely: 30%. 15% of Rockville Centre adults have been diagnosed with depression, where New York’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 23%. In Rockville Centre, 7.5% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 13% report frequent mental distress. The town beats the New York average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Rockville Centre | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rockville Centre | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6% | 12.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.2% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 179 to 82 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
The rate of reported violence in Rockville Centre is 0.2 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime in the town is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| Rockville Centre | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 27°, and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Rockville Centre has about as many jobs (12,569) as working residents, but only 924 people both live and work here. 25.4% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Only 8% of working residents stay in Rockville Centre for work; the rest commute out. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 2,117, to 12,569. In Rockville Centre, the typical household income is $152,000. The top destinations are New York (42%), Hempstead (31%) and North Hempstead (7%).
| Rockville Centre | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $152,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 25% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rockville Centre’s trail network density comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile. Count the trails in 6 parks and preserves and they come to 0.4 miles. Also worth knowing: the biggest park or preserve is Hempstead Lake State Park, at 58 acres.
| Rockville Centre | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hempstead Lake State Park | 0.3 mi | 58 |
| 2. Reverend Doctor Morgan Days Park | — | 57 |
| 3. Lister Park | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Households in Rockville Centre have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2021. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. This New York town has had 51 paid flood insurance claims since 1979. Expected losses in Rockville Centre break down as 78% from inland flooding and 8% from earthquakes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27 within 15 miles of the center of Rockville Centre
About 5 of every 100 Rockville Centre residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
44 notable people were born in Rockville Centre.
Village in New York, United States
Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 26,016 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Rockville Centre.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockville Centre | #37 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Baldwin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lakeview | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Hempstead | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oceanside | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lynbrook | #149 | A− | D− | — | A | A− |
| East Rockaway | #114 | A | D− | — | A− | A |
Lynbrook and East Rockaway report no FBI crime data of their own. Baldwin, Lakeview, South Hempstead and Oceanside aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rockville Centre with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Rockville Centre grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #37 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
44 notable people were born here, including Matt Reeves and June Diane Raphael.
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