Water Mill is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New York. With a population of 2,506 people and just one neighborhood, Water Mill is the 534th largest community in New York.
Water Mill home prices are not only among the most expensive in New York, but Water Mill real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Water Mill is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 87.67% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Water Mill is a town of managers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Water Mill who work in sales jobs (25.00%), business and financial occupations (24.13%), and management occupations (15.56%).
Of important note, Water Mill is also a town of artists. Water Mill has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Water Mill’s character.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 43.92% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Water Mill is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Water Mill’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
In addition, Water Mill is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.
One of the nice things about Water Mill is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
Despite being a small town, Water Mill has a lot of people using taxis to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on taxis are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Water Mill. 77.57% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Water Mill in 2022 was $134,354, which is wealthy relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $537,416 for a family of four.
Water Mill is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Water Mill home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Water Mill residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Water Mill also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.37% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Water Mill include German, Polish, Irish, Eastern European, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Water Mill is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 73.0% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.8% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
Furthermore, one way that the neighborhood really stands out, is that it has more large 4, 5, or additional bedroom homes and real estate than 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America. When you walk or drive around this neighborhood, you'll instantly notice the size of the homes here which definitely makes a strong visual statement.
Also of note, some neighborhoods are made up of apartments. Some consist of row houses, and most - by far - consist of a mixture of housing types. But the neighborhood stands out due to the total dominance of detached, single-family homes here. There are nearly no other types of residential real estate in the neighborhood. In fact, this neighborhood has a higher proportion of single-family homes in its real estate stock than 96.8% of all American neighborhoods.
Wealth makes most things in life easier, and a few things harder. If you are wealthy and enjoy keeping up with the Jones', this neighborhood will interest you. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the neighborhood is wealthier than 96.8% of the neighborhoods in the United States. Residents here are truly in a unique situation even when compared to other Americans, based on the sheer amount of wealth concentrated here. Even in times of economic downturn, residents of this neighborhood, as a group, suffered less and recovered more quickly. This is indeed a stand-out characteristic of this neighborhood. As one would expect in a considerably wealthy neighborhood such as this, also has one of the lowest ratings of child poverty in the nation.
In addition, a majority of the adults in the neighborhood are wealthy and educated executives. They own stately homes that tend to maintain high real estate appreciation rates. Their upper-level careers keep them busy, but allow them to live comfortably. If you're an executive and want to keep similar company, consider settling in this neighborhood, rated as an executive lifestyle "best choice" neighborhood for New York by NeighborhoodScout's analysis, which rated it as better for executive lifestyles than 99.3% of the neighborhoods in New York. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and active retirees.
Also, the rate of college educated adults in the neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 76.9% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 35.0% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
A unique way of commuting is simply not to. And in the neighborhood, analysis shows that 47.2% of the residents work from home, avoiding a commute altogether. This may not seem like a large number, but it is a higher proportion of people working from home than is found in 99.8% of the neighborhoods in the United States. One thing NeighborhoodScout's research reveals is that the wealthier and/or more isolated the neighborhood, the greater the proportion of residents who choose to work from home.
Also, in the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 14.7% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.1% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Eastern European and Russian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 19.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Eastern European ancestry and 4.3% have Russian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak German/Yiddish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Water Mill are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 96.8% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 52.0% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 28.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (12.5%), and 4.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 87.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, French and German/Yiddish.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Water Mill, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Eastern European (19.9%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (19.6%), and residents who report Irish roots (13.4%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.1%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (7.0%), among others. In addition, 10.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (47.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (29.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (14.7%) and 6.2% of residents also take the train for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
