Suffolk is home to 78,000 Jewish adults and 7,000 Jewish children in 55,000 households. These households are home to 138,000 total people, including both Jews and non-Jews in Jewish households. 10% of households in Suffolk include a Jewish person.
The average age of adults in Jewish households in Suffolk is 45, lower than the average age in the eight-county area. 20% of these adults are seniors over the age of 65. Additionally, 19% of this area's population are children, for a total of 26,000 children and 21,000 seniors.
77% of adults in Jewish households in Suffolk are married, compared with 62% in the eight-county overall. 5% have never married and 7% are divorced or separated.
10% of adults in Jewish households in Suffolk were born outside of the U.S., and 76% were born in the New York area, a rate higher than in the eight-county area as a whole.
Suffolk has a higher median income compared with that of the eight county area. The share of low-income households is lower compared with the eight-county area as a whole.
Compared with the eight-county area, the share of Jewish households who are poor or near poor is lower: 10% earn up to two and a half times the federal poverty line. 12,000 people live in poor or near poor households in Suffolk.
25% of households say they can't make ends meet or are just managing, while 42% say they have some extra money or are well off.
6% of households in Suffolk are food-insecure, reporting that they have run out of food at least sometimes in the last year.
41% of Jewish adults in Suffolk report feeling some or more a part of the Jewish community in New York. 80% feel being Jewish is important to them, lower than the rate across the eight counties.
18% of Jewish adults are synagogue members.
3% of Jewish adults in Suffolk are Orthodox, 20% are Conservative, and 30% are Reform. 47% have no denomination or identify with a group not listed above.
5% of adults in Jewish households say they attend synagogue at least monthly, and 6% say they attend Jewish programs at least monthly, lower than the rate across the eight counties.
| Jewish behaviors | Suffolk | 8-County Total |
|---|---|---|
| The percentage of adults in Jewish households who celebrate Chanukah. | 68% | 80% |
| The percentage of adults in Jewish households who participate in a Passover seder. | 65% | 77% |
| The percentage of adults in Jewish households who observe Yom Kippur in some way. | 56% | 70% |
| The percentage of adults in Jewish households who mark Shabbat in a way different from other days. | 27% | 48% |
| The percentage of adults in Jewish households who keep a kosher home. | 3% | 21% |
| The percentage of adults in Jewish households who attend Jewish prayer services, at least monthly. | 5% | 23% |