How many Hamptons homes sit empty in winter?

In Amagansett, 80% of homes are classed as seasonal. In Quogue it is 79% and in Sagaponack 76%. At the other end, Springs sits at 27% and Hampton Bays at 29%. New York City is at 2%. If you are choosing where to spend a first winter, this is the number that tells you how crowded the street will be in January. To search by town, see year-round rentals by town.

Share of housing units the Census classes as seasonal, recreational or occasional use. Source: ACS 2020–2024, table B25004.

What “seasonal” means

The Census counts a housing unit as seasonal when it is vacant at the time of the survey and held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. A second home that its owners visit on weekends falls in this group. A house whose owners live there all year, or a tenant occupies on a year-round lease, does not.

Three tiers

Mostly seasonal

Amagansett, 80%
Quogue, 79%
Sagaponack, 76%
Bridgehampton, 72%
Wainscott, 65%
East Hampton village, 63%
Montauk, 61%

Few households live in the smallest of these year-round: 821 residents in Amagansett and 303 in Sagaponack. Montauk is larger, with 4,223.

In the middle

Shelter Island, 57%
Westhampton Beach, 56%
Southampton village, 55%
Remsenburg-Speonk, 52%
Water Mill, 50%
North Haven, 47%

Shelter Island has 3,355 year-round residents, Southampton village 4,621 and Westhampton Beach 2,574.

Mostly lived in

Sag Harbor, 44%
Westhampton, 40%
East Quogue, 33%
Hampton Bays, 29%
Springs, 27%

Hampton Bays has 15,706 year-round residents and Springs 9,163, far more than any other place in this table.

What it means for a renter

Neighbors. In the most seasonal hamlets, a year-round tenant can be the only occupied house on a road. Spend a November weekend in a hamlet before you commit to a lease there.
Heating and upkeep. Ask who handles snow, a fuel delivery and a frozen-pipe call. The utilities checklist covers it.
Rental supply. Compare the renter-household counts in rents by hamlet with the table above.

To see how the calendar changes the East End, read the almanac. For a first-winter plan, use the first winter checklist.

Questions people ask

What does the Census count as a seasonal home?

A vacant housing unit held for occasional or seasonal use, such as a vacation home, at the time of the survey. A house occupied year-round by its owner or a tenant is not counted.

Does a high seasonal share mean the place is empty in winter?

It means most homes there are not anyone's year-round address. The remaining year-round residents are still there, so shops, schools and services serve a smaller community rather than none.