Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is partially located on the southwestern part of the Cow Neck Peninsula. The population was 8,176 at the time of the 2020 census.
As with other unincorporated communities in New York, the CDP's local affairs are administered by the town in which it is located, the Town of North Hempstead.
Additionally, the hamlet serves as the town seat of North Hempstead, and North Hempstead Town Hall – the town's governmental headquarters – is located within Manhasset's downtown, along Plandome Road.
Etymology
The name Manhasset was adopted for the community in 1840. It is most likely the anglicized rendition of the name of a nearby Native American tribe whose name translates to "the island neighborhood".
History The Matinecock had a village on Manhasset Bay. These Native Americans called the area Sint Sink, meaning "place of small stones". They made wampum from oyster shells. In 1623, the area was claimed by the Dutch West India Company and they began forcing English settlers to leave in 1640. A 1643 land purchase made it possible for English settlers to return to Cow Neck (the peninsula where present-day Port Washington, Manhasset, and surrounding villages are located.).Aronson, Harvey, ed. Home Town Long Island. (Newsday, 1999). .
Manhasset Bay was previously known as Schout's Bay (a schout being roughly the Dutch equivalent of a sheriff), Martin Garretson's Bay (Martin Garretson was the Schout at one point), and later Cow Bay or Cow Harbor. Cow Neck was so called because it offered good grazing land. By 1659, there were over 300 cows and 5 mi (8 km) fence separating Cow Neck from the areas to the south. The settlers came to an agreement that each of them could have one cow on the neck for each section of fence the individual had constructed. The area was more formally divided among the settlers when the fence was removed in 1677. Manhasset took on the name Little Cow Neck, Port Washington was known as Upper Cow Neck.
During the American Revolution, Little Cow Neck suffered at the hands of the British military; numerous structures and properties, such as the 1719 Quaker Meeting House, were burned, seized, or damaged. The Town of North Hempstead separated from the Town of Hempstead in 1784 because the South, inhabited mainly by Church of England people, was loyal to the king. The Northern communities and villages, dominated by Yankee Congregationalists supported independence.
In 1801, it cost two cents to travel between Roslyn and Spinney Hill on the North Hempstead Turnpike, the newly opened toll road (now Northern Boulevard).
The Manhasset name was adopted in 1840 and comes from the native word "Manhanset", roughly meaning "the island neighborhood". At this time, the inhabitants of Mahnhaset became known as the Manhasseniters. Dairy farming was still a major endeavor, but the oyster industry was also on the rise. In 1898, the Long Island Railroad arrived, bringing with it wealthy New Yorkers looking for country homes with easy transportation to more urban areas of New York City. Manhasset Valley and Spinney Hill attracted a number of skilled workers and immigrant families.
The North Hempstead Town Hall opened in Manhasset on Plandome Road in 1907. Town councilmen had previously been meeting in Roslyn taverns after North Hempstead split away from Hempstead in 1775.
The Manhasset Valley School, originally built to serve the children of the help on the local Gold Coast Estates, eventually came to serve Manhasset's African American community, and was closed in the 1960s by a desegregation lawsuit. It is still standing and is currently used as a community center. The centrally located but antiquated Plandome Road School was demolished in the early 1970s, having been replaced by the new Shelter Rock Elementary School in North Hills by 1969. Currently, Mary Jane Davies Green sits on the site of the old school.
Manhasset is served by the Nassau County Police Department, with the Sixth Precinct station house located on Community Drive, just south of Northern Boulevard. RMPs 608 and 616 are the cars assigned to patrol duties in Manhasset. In 2005, a Wall Street Journal article ranked Manhasset as the best town for raising a family in the New York metropolitan area. The Manhasset area, settled by 1680, grew quickly after it began being served by the Long Island Rail Road in 1898. The LIRR provides access to New York City via the Manhasset station with an approximately 40-minute commute to Penn Station or Grand Central. Express trains, which run during rush hour, make the trip in less than 30 minutes. The hamlet of Manhasset is located 19.5 miles (29.2 km) away from midtown Manhattan.
In the 2010s and 2020s, talks have been restarted to connect the businesses on Plandome Road to sanitary sewers operated by the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District. These proposals have been discussed for decades but historically had been met with opposition, ultimately killing some of the earlier plans.
Failed incorporation attempts There have been several unsuccessful attempts over the years – especially throughout the 1940s – for some or all of the unincorporated areas of Manhasset to incorporate as villages. The most recent proposal to incorporate the hamlet took place in 2016.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.24%, is water.
Topography Like the rest of Long Island's North Shore, Manhasset is situated on a terminal moraine, which is named the Harbor Hill Moraine. This moraine was formed by glaciers during the Wisconsin Glacial Episode, and is named for Harbor Hill in Roslyn; Harbor Hill is the highest geographic point in Nassau County.
Geology Manhasset is the namesake of the geologic unit of the Manhasset Formation.
Drainage Manhasset is split among two minor drainage areas: Leeds Pond and Whitney Pond (both of which are part of the Manhasset Bay Watershed).
Furthermore, the CDP, as a whole, is located within the larger Long Island Sound/Atlantic Ocean Watershed.
Climate Manhasset features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification and is located near the transitional zone between humid subtropical and humid continental (Dfa) climates. Accordingly, the CDP experiences hot, humid summers and cold winters, and experiences precipitation throughout the entirety of the year.
Plant zone According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Manhasset is located within hardiness zone 7b.
Greater Manhasset area In addition to the unincorporated areas of Manhasset proper (Bayview, the Strathmores (North and South Strathmore, Strathmore Village, and Strathmore–Vanderbilt), Shorehaven, Terrace Manor, Manhasset Park, Manhasset Gardens, and Norgate), the Greater Manhasset area also includes three incorporated villages: Munsey Park, Plandome, and Plandome Heights; and parts of three others: Flower Hill, Plandome Manor, and North Hills.
Economy
The Americana Manhasset mall opened in 1956, and is located on Manhasset's Miracle Mile.
The commercial center of Manhasset is situated around the railroad station on Plandome Road, where the LIRR connects directly into Manhattan for a 37-minute commute. The area has bakeries, pizzerias, delis, bars, coffee shops, and a movie theater. Centralized in town is a small park and a gazebo. The community's public library is located one block east of Plandome Road, on the corner of Onderdonk Avenue and Northern Boulevard, adjacent to the historic Quaker Meeting House.
Prior to the Long Island Rail Road's arrival, the commercial center of Manhasset was located in the Manhasset Valley (near the present-day Manhasset Valley Park), along Manhasset Bay.
The North American headquarters of Sabena was located in a office building in Manhasset. In April 2002, Knightsbridge Properties Corp. bought the building for $4.9 million. Due to the bankruptcies of Sabena and Swissair, the real estate deal took over a year to finish. During that month, the building was 30% occupied. Sabena was scheduled to move out of the building on May 10, 2002. The buyer planned to spend an additional $2 million to convert the building into a multi-tenant, Class A office and medical facility.Anastasi, Nick. "Knightsbridge Properties buys former Sabena HQ". Long Island Business News. Friday, April 26, 2002. Retrieved on April 26, 2010.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Manhasset had a population of 8,176. The median age was 44.3 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.3 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,790 households in Manhasset, of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 59.2% were married-couple households, 12.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,947 housing units, of which 5.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.0%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 4,736 57.9% Black or African American 623 7.6% American Indian and Alaska Native 32 0.4% Asian 1,868 22.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1 0.0% Some other race 302 3.7% Two or more races 614 7.5% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 868 10.6%
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 8,080 people and 2,744 households residing in the census-designated place (CDP) which covers 2.38 square miles. The population density was .
There were 2,744 households, out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80, and the average family size was 3.28. The population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18 and 19.2% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males.
Income and poverty The median income for a household in the CDP was $133,456, and the median income for a family was $180,086. The per capita income in the CDP was $72,973. 5.5% of the population and 4.0% of families were below the poverty line. 6.3% of people under 18 years of age and 4.6% of people 65 and older had incomes below the poverty line.
Government Town representation Manhasset, an unincorporated area within the Town of North Hempstead, is directly governed by said Town. It is located in the Town of North Hempstead's 5th council district, which as of March 2026 is represented by Yaron Levy (R–Harbor Hills).
Furthermore, as Manhasset is the town seat of North Hempstead, the Town's government is seated in the hamlet, and North Hempstead Town Hall is located on Plandome Road in the hamlet's downtown area.
Representation in higher government County representation Manhasset located within Nassau County's 10th Legislative district, which as of August 2025 is represented in the Nassau County Legislature by Mazi Melesa Pilip (R–Great Neck).
State representation
New York State Assembly Manhasset is located in the New York State Assembly's 16th State Assembly district, which as of August 2025 is represented by Daniel J. Norber (R–Great Neck).
New York State Senate