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 constituent 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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 14.45% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Merrick a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Merrick has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Merrick’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

One downside of living in Merrick is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Merrick, the average commute to work is 37.13 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the town are by private automobile, Merrick is somewhat unusual for a town of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the train helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Merrick area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

If knowledge is power, Merrick is a pretty powerful place. 61.81% 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 2018 was $66,527, which is wealthy relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $266,108 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.