Nassau County is a suburban county comprising much of western Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. Nassau County is directly east of New York City limits and therefore also within the New York metropolitan area. The county is one of the four counties that occupy Long Island, together with Suffolk County to its immediate east and Queens and Kings counties to the west, which correspond, respectively, to the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Two cities, three towns, 64 incorporated villages, and more than 60 unincorporated hamlets are located within the county. In 2012, Forbes magazine, in an article based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, reported Nassau County was one of the highest income counties in the United States and the most affluent in the state of New York, comprising four of the nation’s top ten towns by median income. It also ranks as the most expensive county in America. The name of the county comes from an old name for Long Island, which was at one time named Nassau, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, a member of the House of Nassau, itself named for the German town of Nassau. The county colors (orange and blue) are also the colors of the House of Orange-Nassau. Several alternate names had been considered for the county, including “Bryant”, “Matinecock” (a village within the county currently has that name), “Norfolk” (presumably because of the proximity to Suffolk County), and “Sagamore”. However, “Nassau” had the historical advantage of having at one time been the name of Long Island itself, and was the name most mentioned after the new county was proposed in 1875.
Founded in 1899
Named for William of Nassau
Seat: Mineola
Largest town: Hempstead
Area
• Total: 453 sq mi (1,173 km2)
• Land: 285 sq mi (738 km2)
• Water: 169 sq mi (438 km2), 62%
Population
• (2017) 1,369,514
• Density: 4,805.3/sq mi (1,855.3/km²)
Congressional districts: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Time zone: Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Nassau County Official Website
Nassau County Chamber of Commerce
