More adults getting bachelor's degrees, and a rise in impoverished Long Island seniors, new survey finds

Long Island saw a greater proportion of its 25-and-older residents obtain bachelor's degrees or higher over five years, a census survey shows.

And while the Island's median households have generally achieved higher incomes over that period, a greater share of its older residents and — in some places children — entered poverty, the survey shows.

Overall, findings in the American Community Survey estimates for 2020-24 released this week depicted Long Island as a "diverse and complicated place," said Lawrence Levy, executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies.

"There's good news in this; there's bad news in it. The question is, ‘What are we going to do with this data to make sure that we're leveraging, you know, the good news ... and dealing with the bad? ’ " said Levy, who counseled caution in drawing conclusions from significant statistical shifts that could stem from the impact of the pandemic, housing developments or other fluctuations in a community. 

Here's more on the changes observed in the American Community Survey comparing estimates from the period between 2015 and 2019 to those from 2020 to 2024:

Higher education

Long Island saw an increase in the number of people who were 25 and older who had at least a bachelor’s degree, according to data.

In Nassau, 49.7% of that demographic had a bachelor's degree in the most recent estimates, marking a roughly 4 percentage point increase, according to an analysis of data by Newsday. Suffolk, meanwhile, had 40.2% of that age group reach that educational achievement, up about 4 percentage points.

Still, some areas saw a more significant rise, according to the analysis.

Hewlett had roughly 65% of its 25-and-older population with at least a bachelor’s degree, a nearly 19 percentage point increase from the previous survey.

The villages of Mineola and Kings Point both saw sizable growth in that area, with the former seeing its percentage jump from 42% to roughly 58% and the latter moving from 51.5% to 66.6%

Median household income

Nassau saw its median household income grow from $142,885 to $146,202, bureau records show. Meanwhile, in Suffolk, the figures jumped from $124,339 to $130,686.

Among the localities that saw the larger increases was North Amityville, which rose from $92,954 to $136,654. Hampton Bays saw median household income grow from $99,995 to $134,216.

Senior poverty

Long Island saw increases in poverty — or those who earn below the federal threshold — among people 65 and older across the two time frames, according to the data. Nassau’s rate jumped from 5.2% to 6.7%, while Suffolk saw a similar 1.5 percentage point uptick, going from 5.8% to 7.3%.

But some communities saw a sharper increase in the intervening time than others. For instance, Malverne Village saw poverty within its 65 and older community soar from 4.5% to 18.8%, the data showed.

Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of the Family & Children’s Association, said many older Long Islanders are struggling under the "weight of taxes and inflation," pushing them "further behind and into poverty in a way that they never imagined."

"Because there’s a pride factor here, most don’t ask for help until they absolutely have to. Poverty among seniors happens quietly on Long Island, behind closed doors," Reynolds said in an email.

Childhood poverty

Overall, Long Island had a reduction in children living in a household with income below the federal threshold. Suffolk saw its percentage move from 9.1% to 7.1%, while Nassau saw it drop from 6.7% to 5.7%. 

But in some places on Long Island, it's gone up, such as Amityville Village, where childhood poverty spiked from roughly 4% to about 40%.

"I’m not surprised that there’s an increased poverty rate," said Suffolk County Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), who represents the Amityville area.

This sharp uptick is "a symptom of many other things that we all see in our communities," including the steep costs of housing and child care, Richberg said. Parents must often choose between job opportunities and child-care costs, he said.

"When you look at how the pandemic-era subsidies have now lapsed and we’ve seen inflation gone up, it’s not a surprise," he said.

Newsday's Arielle Martinez contributed to this story.