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Lake Ronkonkoma.

All Lake Ronkonkoma data Compare Lake Ronkonkoma

18,221people live here $101,633median household income▲ 26% above US $2,170median rent per month▲ 54% above US $525,000median home value▲ 58% above US

Lake Ronkonkoma is an unincorporated community in Suffolk County, NY. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Lake Ronkonkoma

Lake Ronkonkoma is an unincorporated community in New York with county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Lake Ronkonkoma deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, and a population that has been shrinking.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average commute times
Shrinking population
High rent burden for renters
Cold winters

How Lake Ronkonkoma compares

Median household income

Lake Ronkonkoma$101,633

New York avg$85,974

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Lake Ronkonkoma$2,170

New York avg$1,621

US$1,413

Median home value

Lake Ronkonkoma$525,000

New York avg$423,800

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Lake Ronkonkoma

Based on Lake Ronkonkoma's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$4,340

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $86,800 a year
60% of Lake Ronkonkoma renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$105,000

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $52,500
Homes cost 5.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 54% above US

$2,170/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,170 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $525,000. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $525,000 · 60% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.5% county unemployment

Unemployment in Suffolk County is 3.5%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Suffolk County (county-wide)

Safety

48 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Lake Ronkonkoma doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Suffolk County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 567/100k · Policed by Suffolk County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2023 data

Getting aroundNear US average

28 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 28.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 10% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

78%

Work from home

9.7%

Carpool

5.4%

Public transit

3.7%

Other

1.6%

Walk

1.3%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 80°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 27°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

34% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 34% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

3 public schools inside the boundary

There are 3 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 11:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Fire Island National Seashore (10 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Lake Ronkonkoma's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,170/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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