Huntington is one of tentowns inSuffolk County, New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11th most populous city/town in the state.[1]
George Bradford Brainerd Street, 1907George Bradford Brainerd Street, ca. 1872–1887
In 1653, three men fromOyster Bay – Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams, and Daniel Whitehead – purchased a parcel of land from theMatinecock tribe.[2] This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered byCold Spring Harbor on the west,Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known asOld Country Road to the south, and theLong Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the settlers who had already been living there.[2][3]
Because Huntington was populated largely by English settlers, unlike the rest of the New Amsterdam colony, the town voted in 1660 to become part of theConnecticut colony rather than remain under the authority of New Amsterdam. It was not until the British gained control of New Amsterdam in 1664 (renaming it New York) that Huntington was formally restored to the jurisdiction of New York.[3]
The arrival of theLong Island Rail Road in 1867 transformed the economy of Huntington from primarily agriculture and shipping (based on its well protected harbor) to tourism and commuting. Cold Spring Harbor became a popular summer resort.[3]
The end of World War II brought about an explosive growth of population in Huntington as western Suffolk County begansuburbanizing.[3] Farms and resorts gave way to homes, and Huntington transformed into a major commuter town for nearby New York City.[3]
In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that Huntington had violated the Fair Housing Act by preventing apartment construction anywhere except in black neighborhoods.[5] A developer of an affordable housing project sought to build it in a white neighborhood, but the town restricted the developer to black neighborhoods.[6] The Supreme Court ordered the town to build an affordable housing project in a white neighborhood. Construction on that project began in 2023.[5]
In 2019, Huntington banned the creation of new basement apartments.[5] In 2023, a council member proposed legalizing basement apartments to alleviate the housing crisis in Huntington and other communities surrounding New York City.[5] At a July 2023 hearing, in which local residents railed against "migrants, pedophiles, or criminals" moving into Huntington, council members backtracked on their support for the zoning change.[5]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 137.1 square miles (355 km2), of which 94.0 square miles (243 km2) is land and 43.1 square miles (112 km2) (31.44%) is water.[7]
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 195,289 people, 65,917 households, and 52,338 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,078.4 inhabitants per square mile (802.5/km2). There were 67,708 housing units at an average density of 720.6 units per square mile (278.2 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town in 2000 was 88.31%White, 4.22%Black orAfrican American, 0.13%Native American, 3.50%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 2.27% fromother races, and 1.55% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 6.58% of the population. As of the census of 2010, the racial makeup of the town was 84.15%White, 4.68%Black orAfrican American, 0.20%Native American, 4.96%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 3.89% fromother races, and 2.10% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 11.00% of the population.
There were 65,917 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
According to a 2023 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $164,196, and the median income for a family was $190,280.[11] About 4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Sbarro's headquarters were located inMelville in the Town of Huntington until 2015.[12]
Around 2002,Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville toUniondale,Town of Hempstead. The facility, the formerSwissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architectRichard Meier to design the Melville facility.[13][14]
In 1997,Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters fromManhattan to Melville; James Lyndon, a spokesperson for the airline, said that the company moved to Long Island in an effort to reduce costs, as leasing costs are lower on Long Island than in Manhattan. The move would transfer 75 employees, including administrative personnel, marketing personnel, sales personnel, and telephone reservation agents. The airline planned to move on June 15, 1997. The airline had also considered sites in Boston and inWestchester, New York.[15]
The town government consists of a town council with four members, all of whom are elected at large. The town supervisor is elected by the entire town. Other elected positions are the Town Clerk, Highway Superintendent, and Receiver of Taxes.[17] A referendum to move to a ward district system on December 22, 2009, failed 81% to 18%.
Until 2017, Huntington was generally controlled by theDemocratic Party, having the same Democratic town supervisor, Frank Petrone, for 20 years prior to 2017. The town board followed suit during these years, generally being controlled by the Democratic Party. In 2017, theRepublican Party took control of the town supervisor position with the election of Chad Lupinacci.[18] The Republicans have held this position since. In the 2021 general election,[19] the people of Huntington elected Edmund Smyth[20] to the supervisor position. Two Republicans were also elected to the town board: Dr. Dave Bennardo[21] and Salvatore Ferro.[22] In the 2023 general election,[23] Brooke Lupinacci[24] and Theresa Mari[25] were elected, creating a 5–0 super majority for the Republican Party on the town board. The town clerk position is held by Andrew Raia,[26] and the highway superintendent is Andre Sorentino,[27] both Republicans. The lone Democrat in the Huntington town government is Jillian Guthman.[28]
Several weekly newspapers cover local news exclusively, includingThe Long-Islander, since 1838 as well asThe Times of Huntington by TBR News Media. TheVillage Connection Magazine, published by Jim Savalli, is a lifestyle and entertainment magazine dedicated to the town of Huntington. Additionally,Patch, an online-only news website formerly owned by AOL – as well as the Huntington Buzz, an online-only news website that is independently owned – cover hyper-local news on issues, people, and events in Huntington.
I-495 is the Long Island Expressway, and the sole interstate highway in the Town of Huntington, with interchanges from part of Exit 48 inWest Hills on theNassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 52 inCommack.
Northern State Parkway was the sole limited-access highway in the Town of Huntington until the construction of the Long Island Expressway. It has interchanges from Exit 39 inWest Hills east of theNassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 43 inCommack on the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line.
NY 25A, the northernmost west–east state highway on Long Island including the Town of Huntington. It enters the town from Laurel Hollow in Nassau County, running through historic Cold Spring Harbor, then downtown Huntington, later Centerport, Northport, and Fort Salonga where it crosses the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line.
NY 25, the parent route of NY 25A, which also runs west to east along Jericho Turnpike. It enters the town at West Hills from Woodbury, passes through South Huntington, Elwood, and Commack, where it crosses the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line.
Old Country Road, an extension of a principal west–east thoroughfare in Central Nassau County. It enters Suffolk County in a hidden overlap with Round Swamp Road at Exit 48 on I-495, then branches off to the northeast as it passes through West Hills, Melville, Dix Hills and South Huntington. Unlike in Nassau County, the road has no designation.
NY 108, is the westernmost south–north state route in Suffolk County. It runs from Suffolk CR 11 at Cold Spring Harbor's LIRR station to NY 25A running along the edge of the Nassau County Line.
NY 110, is a major south–north highway in Suffolk County. It enters the town from East Farmingdale near theState University of New York at Farmingdale, and runs through Melville, then South Huntington, Huntington Station, Downtown Huntington, and serves as the main road in Halesite, before finally terminating at Youngs Hill Road, where it becomes the undesignated East Shore Road.
NY 231, has been entirely a four-lane divided highway throughout its existence. It enters the town from Deer Park in the Town of Babylon between Rutland and Kenmore Streets and runs through Dix Hills, where it has interchanges with I-495 and the Northern State Parkway. Immediately after the parkway, the route terminates at a fork in the road forSuffolk CRs 35 to the northwest and66 to the northeast.
CR 2 is Straight Path, a southwest to northeast county road running from the Babylon Town Line through Wyandanch as the main road, ending at NY 231 in Dix Hills.
CR 3 is a south to north county route known as Wellwood Avenue from north of East Farmingdale at the Babylon Town Line to Ruland Road (CR 5) where it becomes Pinelawn Road until it reaches NY 110 in Melville.
CR 11, includes Woodbury Road in Cold Spring Harbor, and Pulaski Road from Cold Spring Harbor through Fort Salonga.
CR 35 is a de-facto extension ofNY 231 running southwest to northeast from Dix Hills throughNY 110 in Halesite.
CR 92 is the south-to-north route from Oakwood Road from NY 25 in West Hills, Huntington Manor, and Huntington, then turns east onto High Street to end at NY 110.
Huntington is one of only two townships in the United States, alongsideWeymouth, Massachusetts, to ban self-service gas stations at the township level and among the few places in the U.S. wherefull-service gas stations are compulsory and no self-service is allowed;[35] the entire state ofNew Jersey and the western-Mid Valley portion ofOregon are the only other places in the country with similar laws.
Carey Lowell, actor; James Bond filmLicence to Kill;Law & Order character Jamie Ross, 1996–2001
Charles Ludlam, actor, playwright and founder of the Theater of the Ridiculous in New York City, grew up in Greenlawn and graduated from Harborfields High School.
Meg Whitman, CEO ofeBay and 2010 California gubernatorial candidate; grew up inLloyd Harbor, adjacent to Cold Spring Harbor, and attended Cold Spring Harbor High School, graduating in 1973
^Auletta, Ken (April 30, 2012)."Get Rich U."The New Yorker.Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. RetrievedApril 6, 2013.Hennessy grew up in Huntington, Long Island.
^"HARIDOPOLOS, Mike".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. RetrievedJune 30, 2025.
Show Huntington
Show New York
Show the United States
United States
New York._Street%2c_Huntington%2c_Long_Island%2c_May_1907..jpg)
._Street%2c_Huntington%2c_Long_Island%2c_ca._1872-1887..jpg)
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg)
I-495 is the Long Island Expressway, and the sole interstate highway in the Town of Huntington, with interchanges from part of Exit 48 inWest Hills on theNassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 52 inCommack.
Northern State Parkway was the sole limited-access highway in the Town of Huntington until the construction of the Long Island Expressway. It has interchanges from Exit 39 inWest Hills east of theNassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 43 inCommack on the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line.
NY 25A, the northernmost west–east state highway on Long Island including the Town of Huntington. It enters the town from Laurel Hollow in Nassau County, running through historic Cold Spring Harbor, then downtown Huntington, later Centerport, Northport, and Fort Salonga where it crosses the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line.
NY 25, the parent route of NY 25A, which also runs west to east along Jericho Turnpike. It enters the town at West Hills from Woodbury, passes through South Huntington, Elwood, and Commack, where it crosses the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line.
NY 108, is the westernmost south–north state route in Suffolk County. It runs from Suffolk CR 11 at Cold Spring Harbor's LIRR station to NY 25A running along the edge of the Nassau County Line.
NY 110, is a major south–north highway in Suffolk County. It enters the town from East Farmingdale near theState University of New York at Farmingdale, and runs through Melville, then South Huntington, Huntington Station, Downtown Huntington, and serves as the main road in Halesite, before finally terminating at Youngs Hill Road, where it becomes the undesignated East Shore Road.
NY 231, has been entirely a four-lane divided highway throughout its existence. It enters the town from Deer Park in the Town of Babylon between Rutland and Kenmore Streets and runs through Dix Hills, where it has interchanges with I-495 and the Northern State Parkway. Immediately after the parkway, the route terminates at a fork in the road forSuffolk CRs 35 to the northwest and66 to the northeast.
CR 2 is Straight Path, a southwest to northeast county road running from the Babylon Town Line through Wyandanch as the main road, ending at NY 231 in Dix Hills.
CR 3 is a south to north county route known as Wellwood Avenue from north of East Farmingdale at the Babylon Town Line to Ruland Road (CR 5) where it becomes Pinelawn Road until it reaches NY 110 in Melville.
CR 11, includes Woodbury Road in Cold Spring Harbor, and Pulaski Road from Cold Spring Harbor through Fort Salonga.
CR 35 is a de-facto extension ofNY 231 running southwest to northeast from Dix Hills throughNY 110 in Halesite.
CR 67 includes the remaining drivable portion of theLong Island Motor Parkway.
CR 92 is the south-to-north route from Oakwood Road from NY 25 in West Hills, Huntington Manor, and Huntington, then turns east onto High Street to end at NY 110.
