Long Island communities, by income

Eight of Long Island's 10 wealthiest communities are in Nassau County — but the geographical reverse is true for communities with the lowest median household income, according to a five-year U.S. Census estimate. Of the bottom 10, all but two are in Suffolk County.

The Census looked at Long Island’s 286 "census designated places" for the survey based on 2005-2009 data. The data came out in the fall but drew extra attention last week when Forbes magazine pointed out that four Nassau County communities were among the top 10 in the United States were in Nassau County.

You can get the full list of Long Island communities by clicking this. And here are the top — and the bottom — 10. (Suffolk communities are marked with asterisks.)

Highest median household income:
1. Plandome -- $241,667
2. Hewlett Neck -- $238,750
3. Munsey Park (in photo) -- $237,321
4. Plandome Manor -- $234,167
5. *Lloyd Harbor -- $221,667
6. Lake Success -- $209,583
7. Old Westbury -- $205,278
8. Sands Point -- $204,286
9. *Old Field -- $199,063
10. East Hills -- $198,750

Lowest median household income:
277. *East Hampton North -- $56,304
278. *Ridge -- $55,991
279. *Greenport West -- $55,625
280. *Dering Harbor -- $54,091
281. Hempstead -- $53,601
282. *Riverhead -- $53,443
283. *Wyandanch -- $51,493
284. Inwood -- $49,897
285. *New Suffolk -- $38,021
286. *Riverside -- $34,577

These numbers represent a five-year combined estimate of median income in each community. The U.S. Census cautions that estimates for smaller communities have extremely wide margins of error — adding or dropping even a single household might change everything.

For example, the hamlet of New Suffolk on the North Fork has a population of 191, a total of 105 occupied housing units and 134 vacant housing units.

Robins Island (geographically part of New Suffolk) is the primary U.S. residence of billionaire Louis Moore Bacon, a hedge fund manager who has a personal fortune estimated at $1.6 billion by Forbes magazine. Forbes ranks him as the 238th-richest American. But Bacon considers London his residence. Without him, the median estimated household income in New Suffolk is barely $38,000 —  Long Island's second-poorest neighborhood.

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