Demographics
The year-round population of Montauk, New York is 3,326 as of the 2010 census. This population explodes in the summer, and there is no reliable statistic demonstrating what the summertime population of Montauk actually is. Median age is 52, median income 66K+. Estimated median house or condo value in 2013: $775,812. These numbers are deceptive.
In the hamlet of Montauk, the occupation category with the highest percentage of workers was management with professional and related occupations comprising 31.1 percent of the employed population, 24.0 percent of the Montauk workforce occupied sales and office positions, 26.5 percent worked in service occupations and 14.6 percent had natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. There is a large segment of the population in Montauk and the Town of East Hampton that are undocumented laborers. Dangerous overcrowded conditions and illegal rentals are a fact of life for this population. In 2013 sixteen percent of the population was hispanic, yet 30 percent of Montauk's school children were hispanic. None of these numbers add up.
Living on a low income in Montauk is particularly difficult as there is limited public transportation and the cost of housing is extremely high. (Data from Town of East Hampton Comprehensive Plan).
It is astounding that there are only seventeen units of affordable housing offered by East Hampton's Housing Authority in Montauk. According to Catherine Casey, executive director of the East Hampton Town Housing Authority, the demand for affordable housing is tenfold of the supply.
This lack of affordable housing, excepting geography, climate change and rising water, is Montauk's greatest challenge.
The Plaza area of Montauk in 1942, 1956 and today.