Merrick / Bellmore / East Meadow / Massapequa Area
South Shore is home to 31,000 Jewish adults and 4,000 Jewish children in 18,000 households. These households are home to 52,000 total people, including both Jews and non-Jews in Jewish households. 18% of households in South Shore include a Jewish person.
The average age of adults in Jewish households in South Shore is 46, lower than the average age in Nassau. 28% of these adults are seniors over the age of 65. Additionally, 19% of this area's population are children.
74% of adults in Jewish households in South Shore are married, compared with 73% in the county overall. 5% have never married and 5% are divorced or separated.
7% of adults in Jewish households in South Shore were born outside of the U.S., and 77% in Nassau were born in the New York area, a rate higher than in the eight-county area as a whole.
South Shore has a similar median income compared with that of the entire county. The share of low-income households is lower compared with Nassau as a whole.
Compared with the entire county, the share of Jewish households who are poor or near poor is higher: 14% earn up to two and a half times the federal poverty line.
15% of households say they can't make ends meet or are just managing, while 31% say they have some extra money or are well off.
6% of households in South Shore are food-insecure, reporting that they have run out of food at least sometimes in the last year.
33% of Jewish adults in South Shore report feeling some or more a part of the Jewish community in New York. 89% feel being Jewish is important to them, less than the rate among Jewish adults in Nassau overall, but greater than the rate across the eight counties.
22% of Jewish adults are synagogue members.
1% of Jewish adults in South Shore are Orthodox, 30% are Conservative, and 29% are Reform. 40% have no denomination or identify with a group not listed above.
11% of adults in Jewish households say they attend synagogue at least monthly, and 11% say they attend Jewish programs at least monthly, less than the rate among Jewish adults in Nassau overall, but greater than the rate across the eight counties.
Jewish behaviors | South Shore | Nassau | 8-County Total |
---|---|---|---|
The percentage of adults in Jewish households who celebrate Chanukah. | 82% | 85% | 80% |
The percentage of adults in Jewish households who participate in a Passover seder. | 80% | 84% | 77% |
The percentage of adults in Jewish households who observe Yom Kippur in some way. | 72% | 78% | 70% |
The percentage of adults in Jewish households who mark Shabbat in a way different from other days. | 29% | 43% | 48% |
The percentage of adults in Jewish households who keep a kosher home. | 5% | 19% | 21% |
The percentage of adults in Jewish households who attend Jewish prayer services, at least monthly. | 11% | 21% | 23% |