Huntington is a town in Suffolk 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 town in the state.

Founded in 1653, the Town of Huntington is located on the North Shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with the Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.

History

In 1653, three men from Oyster Bay – Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams, and Daniel Whitehead – purchased a parcel of land from the Matinecock tribe. This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered by Cold Spring Harbor on the west, Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known as Old Country Road to the south, and the Long Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the settlers who had already been living there.

Some believe the town was named in honor of the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, born 25 April 1599 in Huntingdon, Kingdom of England, who was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1658. From that initial settlement, Huntington grew over subsequent years to include all of the land presently comprising the modern Towns of Huntington and Babylon. The southern part of the town was formally separated to create Babylon in 1872.

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 the Connecticut 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.

On June 21st, 1774 in support of the Sons of Liberty in Boston after the Boston Port Act the town adopted its own Declaration of Rights. These rights include "... every freemans (sic) property is absolutely his own, and no man has a right to take it from him without consent, expressed by himself or his represenatives."

Before the Declaration of Independence the flag flying over Huntington was a British Red Ensign with the word "LIBERTY" on one side and "GEORGE III" on the other. On July 22nd, 1776 when the declaration was being read aloud in Huntington, the "GEORGE III" and the Union Jack were ripped off the flag. The flag was then carried into the Battle of Long Island by the Suffolk County Militia. The flag would be adopted by the town as its official flag shortly before the bicentennial. Following the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, British troops used Huntington as their headquarters, and remained encamped there until the end of the war.

The arrival of the Long 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.

The end of World War II brought about an explosive growth of population in Huntington as western Suffolk County began suburbanizing. Farms and resorts gave way to homes, and Huntington transformed into a major commuter town for nearby New York City.

In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that Huntington had violated the Fair Housing Act by preventing apartment construction anywhere except in black neighborhoods. A developer of an affordable housing project sought to build it in a white neighborhood, but the town restricted the developer to black neighborhoods. The Supreme Court ordered the town to build an affordable housing project in a white neighborhood. Construction on that project began in 2023.

In 2019, Huntington banned the creation of new basement apartments. In 2023, a council member proposed legalizing basement apartments to alleviate the housing crisis in Huntington and other communities surrounding New York City. 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.

Geography Huntington is bounded by Long Island Sound to the north, Nassau County to the west, Babylon to the south, and Smithtown to the east. It also shares a small border with Islip to the southeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (31.44%) is water.

Communities and locations Villages (incorporated) Asharoken Huntington Bay Lloyd Harbor Northport

Hamlets (unincorporated)

Centerport Cold Spring Harbor Commack (partly, with the Town of Smithtown) Dix Hills East Northport Eatons Neck Elwood Fort Salonga (partly, with the Town of Smithtown) Greenlawn Halesite Huntington Huntington Station Melville South Huntington West Hills

Former hamlets Vernon Valley, New York – A former hamlet bordering the village of Northport to the south, it has since been consumed by the hamlet of East Northport CDP, and has the Northport ZIP code.

Crab Meadow – While the local area is still recognized as Crab Meadow by locals, including Crab Meadow beach and golf course, it has since been consumed by the hamlet of Fort Salonga CDP, and now has the Northport ZIP code.

Wincoma – A neighborhood within the CDP in the village of Huntington Bay

Demographics

+ Huntington, NY Data source Population White Black Asian Native Americans Pacific Islanders Hispanic/Latino Other Two or more races 2000 Census 195,289 88.31% 4.22% 3.50% 0.13% 0.02% 6.58% 2.27% 1.55% 2010 Census 203,264 84.15% 4.68% 4.96% 0.20% 0.02% 11.00% 3.89% 2.10% 2020 Census 204,127 79.0% 4.2% 5.5% 0.5% 0.0% 11.9% 4.1% 6.6%

As of the census of 2000, there were 195,289 people, 65,917 households, and 52,338 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 67,708 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town in 2000 was 88.31% White, 4.22% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.27% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 or African American, 0.20% Native American, 4.96% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.89% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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. 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.

Economy Sbarro's headquarters were located in Melville in the Town of Huntington until 2015."Contact Us." Sbarro. Retrieved March 5, 2010.

Around 2002, Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville to Uniondale, Town of Hempstead. The facility, the former Swissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architect Richard Meier to design the Melville facility."Contact Us SWISS USA." Swiss International Air Lines. Retrieved January 20, 2009.Anastasi, Nick. "SwissAir USA HQ heads to market.(Swiss International Airlines moves to Uniondale)." Long Island Business News. June 7, 2002. Retrieved January 25, 2009.

In 1997, Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Manhattan 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 in Westchester, New York.Wax, Alan J. "Aer Lingus moving offices to LI." Newsday.

Top employers According to Huntington's 2025 Adopted Budget, the top employers in the town are:

# Employer # of Employees 1 Canon 3,1032 Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1,9293 Huntington Hospital 1,8104 Estée Lauder 1,7005 Half Hollow Hills School District 1,6826 Henry Schein 1,2687 Western Suffolk BOCES 1,1408 South Huntington Union Free School District 1,1109 Northport-East Northport School District 94510 Huntington – Town Government 773

Government

Town government 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. A referendum to move to a ward district system on December 22, 2009, failed 81% to 18%.

Until 2017, Huntington was generally controlled by the Democratic 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, the Republican Party took control of the town supervisor position with the election of Chad Lupinacci. The Republicans have held this position since. In the 2021 general election, the people of Huntington elected Edmund Smyth to the supervisor position. Two Republicans were also elected to the town board: Dr. Dave Bennardo and Salvatore Ferro. In the 2023 general election, Brooke Lupinacci and Theresa Mari 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, and the highway superintendent is Andre Sorentino, both Republicans. The lone Democrat in the Huntington town government is Jillian Guthman.

The town supervisor is Edmund J.M. Smyth.

County legislators

Huntington has four representatives in the Suffolk County Legislature:

Robert Trotta – 13th District (Ft. Salonga)

Rebecca Sanin – 16th District (Greenlawn, Elwood, Commack, Dix Hills)

Tom Donnelly – 17th District (Huntington Station, S. Huntington, West Hills, Melville)

Stephanie Bontempi – 18th District (Northport-E. Northport, Centerport, Huntington, Cold Spring Harbor, and Lloyd Harbor)

Active Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 1, 2025 Party Number of voters Percentage Democratic 54,198 34.29% Republican 47,226 27.98% Conservative 2,578 1.63% Working Families 639 0.40% Unaffiliated/Other 53,411 33.97% Total 158,052 100%

Education Colleges and universities Five Towns College in Dix Hills Seminary of the Immaculate Conception

School districts and high schools

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School

Commack School District Commack High School (located in the Town of Smithtown)

Elwood Union Free School District John Glenn High School 

Half Hollow Hills Central School District Half Hollow Hills High School East Half Hollow Hills High School West

Harborfields Central School District Harborfields High School

Huntington Union Free School District: Huntington High School