View at Stony Brook, 1906
Stony Brook’s story
200 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1834 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
- 1826Stony Brook is settled
Stony BrookNY
9 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
12,868
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$791K
+9.3% in a year
Household income
$175K
median
Median age
44.9
years
Jobs based here
3,183
A commuter town
Is Stony Brook a good place to live?
68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Stony Brook, above both New York’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (29%). Stony Brook’s trail network density is 1.2 miles per square mile, where New York’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. West Meadow Wetlands Reserve, at 122 acres with 3.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. We don’t grade Stony Brook yet; the figures below are still real.
What makes Stony Brook stand out
Where Stony Brook beats most towns.
By the sea
Stony Brook lives by the ocean
Coastal flooding makes up 12% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
12%of expected storm damage is coastal flooding
97thpercentile for coastal flood risk nationally
13paid flood-insurance claims since 1980
80thpercentile for hurricane risk
On the water
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Nearby attractions
All 557 attractions →Citi Field and 113 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stony Brook. 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
38 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
27 mi Stadium & arenaNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
39 mi Zoo & aquariumBronx ZooSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Citi Field: Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Etihad Park: Bananza76, CC0 · Flushing Meadows–Corona Park: Flapane, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum: iMatthew // talk //, Public domain · Bronx Zoo: Stavenn, CC BY-SA 3.0
Getting set up
Moving to Stony Brook: who provides what
Stony Brook is unincorporated, so Suffolk County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPSEG Long Island26.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSuffolk County Water AuthorityNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesSuffolk CountySuffolk County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSuffolk County Board of ElectionsSuffolk County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2024
ZIP codes11790, 1173311790 94% · 11733 5%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Stony Brook.
Housing
Compared with most of New York and the rest of the country, the median rent in Stony Brook is higher
91% of households live in a home they own in Stony Brook. Typical home values rose 9.3% in the year to September 2026. Homes sold in Stony Brook spent a median 21 days on the market.
$791KZillow home value
| Stony Brook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 91% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Stony Brook$791K
New York$525K
Market temperature
21
days on market
106.7%
sale-to-list price
+9.3%
value change, 1 year
19
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commute
With only 0.6 jobs per working resident, most people in Stony Brook work out of town
Half of commuters travel less than 11 miles. Stony Brook’s middle household income stands at $175,000. Among workers here, 20% work from home. The top destinations are Brookhaven (32%), New York (17%) and Islip (13%).
5%work in town
| Stony Brook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $175,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Stony Brook5%
Brookhaven32%
New York17%
Islip13%
Smithtown10%
11 mi
median commute distance
3,183
jobs based in Stony Brook
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards
Stony Brook faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
In Stony Brook, the FEMA hazard score is 24 of 100. Expected losses in Stony Brook break down as 60% from inland flooding and 12% from coastal flooding. Also worth knowing: since 1980, Stony Brook has seen 13 flood insurance claims paid out.
24risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCoastal floodingHurricanes
13
paid flood claims since 1980
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
The climate in Stony Brook brings four seasons and pleasant summers
Stony Brook has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 25°; snowfall runs to about 32 inches a winter.
32″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter27–42°
Spring41–59°
Summer64–81°
Fall48–64°
Nov 2
typical first frost
Apr 10
typical last frost
+2.3°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
A smaller share of adults in Stony Brook feel lonely than in the typical New York or U.S. town
For adults in Stony Brook, the share who have high blood pressure is 30%. This New York town beats the New York average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. Two figures for adults here: 12% report frequent mental distress, 6.6% smoke cigarettes.
| Stony Brook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 21% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.6% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. New York
22 better9 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Stony Brook | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.6% | 8.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.7% |
Suny/Stony Brook University Hospital
0.4 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
Protected land: 4.5% of Stony Brook
In 8 parks and preserves, walkers have 7.4 miles of trail.
4.5%conserved
4.5%
conserved · 179 of 3,977 acres
7.4 mi
of trails · 1.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Meadow Wetlands Reserve | 3.3 mi | 122 |
| 2. Oxhead Road Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Youngs Island Tidal Wetland | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Stony Brook
17pages on Stony Brook
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Stony Brook
Stony Brook UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Stony Brook0.6 mi$10,931 in-state tuitionSuffolk County Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Selden5.5 mi$6,630 in-state tuitionFive Towns CollegeUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Dix Hills14.9 mi$30,250 tuition
About 10 of every 100 Stony Brook residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
A commuter town
95% of working residents leave Stony Brook for work
Where Stony Brook’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
3,183jobs based in Stony Brook
5%of working residents work in town
11 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
Famous people from Stony Brook
12 notable people were born in Stony Brook.
About Stony Brook
Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States
Stony Brook is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. Begun in the colonial era as an agricultural enclave, the hamlet experienced growth first as a resort town and then to its current state as one of Long Island's major tourist towns and centers of education. Despite being referred to as a village by residents and tourists alike, Stony Brook has never been legally incorporated by the state. As of the 2020 census, Stony Brook had a population of 13,467. The CDP is adjacent to the main campus of Stony Brook University, the largest public university in New York by area, and also The St…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 89 ft
- ZIP code
- 11790, 11794
Stony Brook’s neighbors
9 towns share a border with Stony Brook.
Stony Brook UniversitySmithtownBrookhavenHead of the HarborEast SetauketOld FieldSt. JamesSetauketLake GroveStony Brook
How the neighbors grade
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stony Brook University | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smithtown | #76 | A | D− | — | A | A |
| Brookhaven | #295 | B | D− | — | B | A− |
| Head of the Harbor | — | — | D− | — | A | A+ |
| East Setauket | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Old Field | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| St. James | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Head of the Harbor has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Smithtown, Brookhaven and Head of the Harbor report no FBI crime data of their own. Stony Brook, Stony Brook University, East Setauket, Old Field and St. James aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stony Brook with a neighbor →
Questions about Stony Brook
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Stony Brook, NY a good place to live?
We don’t grade Stony Brook yet; the figures below are still real.
What is Stony Brook, NY known for?
12 notable people were born here, including Awkwafina and Steven Matz.