In addition, Merrick is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.
Merrick is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the 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.
In Merrick, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 35.87 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.
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. 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.
