Census-designated place · Suffolk County, New York

Stony Brook, New York

Stony Brook is a census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area. It has 12,868 residents. Stony Brook, New York has a quality-of-life score of 97 out of 100 (very high), ranking #503 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #98 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on median household income (high), poor or fair health (low) and adult smoking (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), average commute time (high) and high ozone days (high).

97Very high

Quality-of-life score: #503 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #98 of 859 in NY
Population: 12,868 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 2,209.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3671608

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety97#468/15,637
Economy93#1,059/15,631
Housing8#13,711/14,977
Health95#741/15,609
Healthcare91#1,478/15,650
Environment80#3,045/15,453
Education94#989/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,013/15,650
Community87#2,044/15,651
Leisure & amenities92#1,249/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Stony Brook, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Suffolk County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Median household income · high$174,872
98/100New York $85,768United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Poor or fair health · low10.3%
97/100New York 16.8%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · low7.0%
97/100New York 14.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · low0.4%
97/100New York 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Frequent mental distress · low13.4%
97/100New York 17.8%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Violent crime rate · low54 /100k
97/100New York 368 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2023Federal Bureau of InvestigationSuffolk County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.25%
4/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Average commute time · high29.7 min
6/100New York 32.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
High ozone days · high10 days
7/100New York 4 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySuffolk County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high229 min
9/100New York 202 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSuffolk County value
Rent as share of income · high37.0%
18/100New York 31.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · high66.8%
19/100New York 52.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
84.0% (2015-2019) → 66.8% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$120,476 (2015-2019) → $174,872 (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Public transit commutersWorsening
6.4% (2015-2019) → 2.0% (2020-2024)
−4.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
65.6% (2015-2019) → 68.3% (2020-2024)
+2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Unemployment rateWorsening
2.6% (2015-2019) → 5.2% (2020-2024)
+2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
93.5% (2015-2019) → 96.0% (2020-2024)
+2.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Stony Brook, New York improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Inequality−0.0480.447 → 0.398
Household income+45%$120,476 → $174,872

Declined1

Transit use−4.4 points6.4% → 2.0%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Stony Brook, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.6 min2015-2019	29.7 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	59%
Bachelor's degree or higher	65.6%2015-2019	68.3%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	93.5%2015-2019	96.0%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Effective property tax rate	2.42%2015-2019	2.25%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%
High school diploma or higher	97.9%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4472015-2019	0.3982020-2024	−0.048	Improved	83%
Median household income	$120,4762015-2019	$174,8722020-2024	+45%	Improved	80%
Poverty rate	6.0%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Public transit commuters	6.4%2015-2019	2.0%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Declined	7%
Rent as share of income	38.8%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent-burdened households	84.0%2015-2019	66.8%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Unemployment rate	2.6%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	11%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Stony Brook, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stony Brook, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Stony Brook, New York itself moved +5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

12,868 residents (±1,135)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,480 households (±322)

Stony Brook, New York
New York share

Under $25k7.3%†329
$25k–50k3.7%†164
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,480 households (±322)

Stony Brook, New York
New York share

Own91%4,066
Rent9.2%414

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

6,268 workers (±415)

Stony Brook, New York
New York share

Drive alone71%4,445
Carpool4.7%†294
Public transit2.0%†125

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Suffolk County, the county holding most of Stony Brook's residents.

Suffolk County has 50,748 employer establishments, 331 for every 10,000 residents (1.33× the US rate of 248; 1.21× New York's), with 592,580 paid employees at an average annual pay of $66,370. The Census Bureau also counts 163,751 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 50,748; 163,751 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 331; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 592,580
Average annual pay: $66,370; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Suffolk County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	5,078	33.1	2.14×More than typical	34,562	$80,377	9,570
Ambulatory health care services	3,732	24.3	1.17×About typical	46,415	$66,273	8,939
Restaurants and other eating places	3,479	22.7	1.24×About typical	47,645	$30,272	654
Services to buildings and dwellings	2,687	17.5	2.60×More than typical	16,265	$55,504	8,278
Construction of buildings	2,624	17.1	2.26×More than typical	9,875	$73,186	5,364
Building equipment contractors	1,992	13	2.16×More than typical	15,769	$82,196	1,910
Lessors of real estate	1,787	11.7	0.95×About typical	5,656	$67,296	22,445
Landscaping services	1,745	11.4	3.25×More than typical	7,634	$70,710	2,426
Building finishing contractors	1,579	10.3	2.71×More than typical	7,248	$71,795	3,376
Personal care services	1,544	10.1	2.11×More than typical	6,832	$23,121	4,045
Limited-service restaurants	1,486	9.7	1.21×About typical	17,568	$23,913	228
Full-service restaurants	1,393	9.1	1.18×About typical	24,180	$36,568	261

Rank places for an industry Open Suffolk County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,533,173 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $230.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Stony Brook, New York: $17.93 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $230.7K; −91% vs FY2025
Per resident: $17.93; US $1,994
Sole-source: 60%; US 30%
Single offer: 12%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$96.2K42%
Defense Logistics Agency$85.4K37%
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service$28.9K13%
Social Security Administration$14.9K6.5%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$5,1972.3%

Top recipients

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK$96.2K42%
B.C. SYSTEMS INC.$45.5K20%
FLAGPOLES, INCORPORATED$38.5K17%
XSB INC$15.2K6.6%
BNB PLUS CORP.$15.2K6.6%

Spending by fiscal year

1.6MFY2017
522KFY2018
446.8KFY2019
300.7KFY2020
306.3KFY2021
2.5MFY2022
403.8KFY2023
2.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$96.2K42%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$36.8K16%
Architectural and structural metals manufacturing · 3323$29.9K13%
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$15.2K6.6%
Offices of physicians · 6211$14.9K6.5%
Scientific research and development services · 5417

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Stony Brook, New York

HIERARCHICAL RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY RESEARCH FOR FLYING MICROGRID$5.1M
THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK· Suffolk County, NY· Research & development· Aug 15, 2024 – Jun 1, 2026· FA239124CB024
TUITION AND FEES NY, SUNY @ STONY BROOK$138.5K
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK· Suffolk County, NY· Education & social services· Mar 18, 2026 – May 5, 2026· N0622A26FA205
TUITION AND FEES$136.7K
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK· Suffolk County, NY· Education & social services· Aug 21, 2025 – Jan 20, 2026· N0622A25FA505

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Stony Brook, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Stony Brook, New York's figures are part of those of Suffolk County, NY ($1.7B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Stony Brook is mostly in Suffolk County.

See federal money in Suffolk County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Stony Brook, New York is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Kirsten E. Gillibrand

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Suffolk County93100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ68

Other cities and towns in Suffolk County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3671608

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends