Merrick is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New York. With a population of 22,040 people and eight associated neighborhoods, Merrick is the 76th largest community in New York.

Merrick home prices are not only among the most expensive in New York, but Merrick real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Merrick has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Merrick telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 18.78% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Merrick is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

Because of many things, Merrick is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Merrick really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Merrick perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

Merrick is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Merrick, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 35.87 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

For the size of the town, public transportation in Merrick is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the train. For Merrick, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

If knowledge is power, Merrick is a pretty powerful place. 62.31% of the adults in Merrick have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Merrick in 2022 was $71,089, which is wealthy relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $284,356 for a family of four.

Merrick is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Merrick home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Merrick residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Merrick include Italian, Irish, German, Russian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Merrick is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.