Living in Oyster Bay, NY: Taxes, Schools, Commute, Homes

Oyster Bay is the town seat of the Town of Oyster Bay, and it is an unincorporated hamlet. This page sets out the numbers a buyer or renter needs first: income and home values, the Town tax calendar, the school district, the train and the Town’s beaches. It sits among the other North Shore towns, and a nearby town to compare is Locust Valley.

Is Oyster Bay wealthy? Income, home values and rents

Oyster Bay’s median household income is $111,264 in the Census Bureau’s ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, with a margin of error of $9,997. Median family income is $166,894, with a margin of error of $37,777. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $695,500, with a margin of error of $94,517. Median gross rent is $2,225 a month, with a margin of error of $360.

Renting is common here. Of 2,860 occupied housing units, 1,671 are owner-occupied and 1,189 are renter-occupied. The median home was built in 1957. Population is 7,308 in the ACS and was 7,049 at the 2020 census.

What the hamlet covers and its Roosevelt history

Oyster Bay is a hamlet and census-designated place within the Town of Oyster Bay, and its town seat. The census-designated place has a total area of 1.6 square miles, of which 1.2 are land and 0.4 are water, or 23.60%. The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library, first built in 1901, serves the hamlet and East Norwich. The Oyster Bay post office (ZIP 11771) also serves parts of Oyster Bay Cove, Laurel Hollow, Mill Neck, Muttontown, Centre Island, Cove Neck and Upper Brookville. The hamlet’s area was considerably larger before several of its parts incorporated as separate villages, and three of those are now known as Mill Neck, Bayville and Centre Island.

The English first settled the area in 1653 under Peter Wright. Raynham Hall Museum, the home of the Samuel Townsend family, was a British headquarters during the American Revolution. Theodore Roosevelt chose to make his home at Sagamore Hill, in present-day Cove Neck; the house was completed in 1886, and he lived there until his death in 1919. Congress established the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on July 25, 1962. The Oyster Bay Railroad Museum preserves the legacy of Long Island’s railroad history.

How property taxes work in Oyster Bay

The Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes bills property taxes on more than 100,000 parcels in the Town. The office acts as a collection agency for State, County, Town, special district and school district taxes.

There is a 40-day penalty-free period between the due date and the penalty date. Miss the last penalty-free day and the charge is 1% per month, retroactive to the original due date. After the collection period ends, on May 31 for school taxes and August 31 for general taxes, unpaid taxes are payable to the Nassau County Treasurer in Mineola. The Receiver’s frequently asked questions page carries these rules.

Taxpayers have the right to file a grievance on their property’s assessed value. Grievances go to the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission. The 2026 window closed March 31, 2026, after the County extended it. The Town’s page gives the usual grievance period as January 2 to March 1. The next opportunity to file follows the County’s next tentative assessment roll. New owners should register for STAR school tax relief as soon as the home becomes their primary residence. Basic STAR has a $500,000 income limit for the credit and $250,000 for the exemption, and its benefit is based on the first $30,000 of a home’s full value. The property must be the primary residence of an eligible owner. For county-wide mechanics, see Nassau County property taxes.

Public schools: Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District

Oyster Bay is served by the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District. Oyster Bay High School, within the hamlet, is the sole public high school in the district. The district reported 1,310 K-12 public school students in 2024-25.

The NYSED School Report Card profile lists a four-year graduation rate of 95% for 2024-25, an attendance rate of 94% and a suspension rate of 3%. The district enrolled 111 English Language Learner students. For the wider picture, see the North Shore school districts guide.

Commuting from Oyster Bay by LIRR

On June 21, 1889, the first LIRR train arrived in Oyster Bay, when the line was extended from Locust Valley. A temporary alternate plan for the branch ran weekdays from September 2 to November 9, 2025; that schedule is past and is not the current timetable. Use the TrainTime app for current schedules. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, West Shore Road was demolished, and commuters between Bayville and Oyster Bay detoured through Mill Neck, on and off for four years, while it was rebuilt. Details on service patterns are in the LIRR Oyster Bay Branch guide.

Harbor and Town beaches

At least six of the Town of Oyster Bay’s 36 villages and hamlets have shores on Oyster Bay Harbor. The WaterFront Center, a non-profit, offers marine education and recreation in the hamlet, including sailing lessons and environmental education programs.

Residents use Town beaches. Harry Tappen Beach, Marina and Pool has a 267-slip marina, a swimming pool, a boat launching ramp and kayak racks. Stehli Beach offers Long Island Sound swimming and kayak launching. TOBAY Beach and Marina has ocean and bayside beaches, a transient marina and a spray park. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park and Beach is on Larrabee Avenue in Oyster Bay, with a beach, playground, boat launching ramp and kayaking. Beekman Beach on West End Avenue is a passive park with kayak and dinghy rentals and no swimming. The Town’s beach page lists daily opening from June 27 to September 7, 2026. The daily entry fee is $25 at all Town beaches, and a seasonal sticker costs $70 per vehicle. Town residents aged 60 and over can obtain a free parking sticker. Eligible volunteers and veterans can buy a resident discount sticker for $35. The beach and park permits guide explains how to apply.