Living here
Cost of living in Hempstead
Housing is more expensive than the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$1,649/mo
22% above US
Median home value
$442,100
46% above US
Median household income
$82,454
5% above US
Rent as share of income
24%
US 21%
Home price to income
5.4×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
8.625%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for Nassau-Suffolk, NY HUD Metro FMR Area (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Hempstead compares
- Hempstead$1,649
- New York$1,576
- United States$1,348
- Oyster Bay$2,300
- North Hempstead$2,276
- Islip$2,192
- Huntington$2,347
- Yonkers$1,730
- Staten Island$1,689
- White Plains$2,151
- Brookhaven$1,908
- Hempstead$442,100
- New York$403,000
- United States$303,400
- Oyster Bay$634,600
- North Hempstead$870,500
- Islip$486,900
- Huntington$733,000
- Yonkers$478,000
- Staten Island$658,500
- White Plains$624,100
- Brookhaven$577,000
Taxes
Compare with nearby cities
Life in Hempstead
Questions
Is Hempstead expensive to live in?
Housing in Hempstead is more expensive than the national average: median rent is $1,649 (22% above US) and the median home value is $442,100 (46% above US).
How much is rent in Hempstead?
The median gross rent is $1,649 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $1,964, 1 bedroom $2,285, 2 bedrooms $2,689, 3 bedrooms $3,458, 4 bedrooms $3,671.
How much of their income do renters spend in Hempstead?
At the median, a year’s rent ($19,788) equals about 24% of the median household income ($82,454); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Hempstead?
Sales tax is 8.625% and property taxes run about 2.26% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; NYS Dept. of Taxation and Finance, Publication 718 (2/25), Sales and Use Tax Rates by Jurisdiction, effective March 1, 2025.