Retiring in East Hampton Village and Amagansett
East Hampton Village and the neighboring hamlet of Amagansett are covered together on this site under one destination, and both already skew older than most communities a retiree might compare them against: East Hampton Village's estimated 2024 median age is 57.5 years, in a population that is smaller, wealthier, and quieter for much of the year than its summer reputation suggests. That is a real, usable anchor for anyone thinking about retirement here, but it is only one piece of an honest picture. This page looks at what these two places actually offer a retiree - a genuinely old, quiet historic village and a genuinely discreet, old-money hamlet - alongside the real trade-offs: a high-cost, low-inventory real estate market, distance from larger population centers, and open questions about day-to-day medical access that this page will not paper over with invented numbers.
A Median Age of 57.5: What the Numbers Actually Show
The clearest retirement-relevant data point available for this market comes from a 2024 third-party estimate for East Hampton Village specifically: a median age of 57.5 years, a median household income of $106,250, a poverty rate of 3.4 percent of families, and a race and ethnicity breakdown of 68.5 percent White, 25.8 percent Hispanic, and 2.6 percent two or more races. The same source reported a 49.3 percent population change from 2019 to 2024 (a 9.9 percent annual rate of change), a 2024 population estimate of 1,297, and a 2026 projected estimate of 1,553 - figures worth using directionally, since they are third-party estimates rather than Census Bureau-confirmed numbers at the village level for those specific years.
The wider Town of East Hampton, which includes both East Hampton Village and Amagansett hamlet among other areas, has harder Census figures behind it: a 2020 census population of 28,385, up from 21,457 in 2010, with a July 2025 estimate of 29,400 (up 3.7 percent from April 2020) and a town-wide population density of 381.9 people per square mile as of 2020. No official Census Bureau hamlet-level population figure for Amagansett specifically was found in this research - only the Town-wide, Census-confirmed numbers above and the flagged village-level estimate for East Hampton Village. Together, an older-skewing, higher-income, low-poverty village population sitting inside a modestly growing, still relatively low-density town is a reasonable, evidence-based description of who already lives here - not a claim about who else could easily afford to join them, which is a separate question this page addresses below.
Two Different Reasons Retirees End Up Here
East Hampton Village traces to 1648, when Puritan settlers laid out plantations around a wide common - today's Main Street area - on the plain north of Hook Pond, with home lots of 8 to 12 acres and surrounding farmland divided into the Eastern Plain, Great Plain, and Little Plain. Structures from that era still stand, including Hook Mill, Gardiner Windmill, and the Home Sweet Home house, restored under Historic District Consultant Robert J. Hefner's direction. In the final quarter of the 1800s, artists discovered the area's agrarian landscape and a summer colony grew up around it - modest shingled cottages near Ocean Avenue and Lily Pond Lane on the Great Plain, and sizable estates on the Eastern Plain by the early 1900s. For a retiree, that history translates into a walkable, historically dense village center with a long-established rhythm, not a newly built retirement community.
Amagansett has its own, separate founding: settled in 1680, its name derived from a Montaukett-language phrase meaning "place of good water," by families including Baker, Conklin, and Barnes, along with Dutch brothers Abraham and Jacob Schellinger who arrived between 1680 and 1690. In the late 19th century, Procter & Gamble executives established the Devon Colony there, an exclusive enclave built around generational legacy and understated wealth rather than public display; its properties rarely enter the public real estate market and maintain real price discretion by design. Amagansett also carries one genuinely dramatic, fully resolved piece of history: shortly after midnight on June 13, 1942, four Nazi saboteurs landed by German U-boat on its beach as part of Operation Pastorius, were spotted by an unarmed Coast Guard patrolman, and were all in custody within days - the ringleader, George John Dasch, having contacted the FBI himself. Six of the eight saboteurs involved (including a second team that landed in Florida) were executed on August 8, 1942; Dasch and Ernest Peter Burger had their sentences commuted. That episode is decided history now, not a lingering concern - today's Amagansett is, by all the evidence in this research, a quiet hamlet, not an unsettled one.
Quiet, Distance, and Access to Care
A quiet, historic village and a discreet, low-density hamlet are genuine draws for many retirees, but quiet and remote are related, and it is worth being honest about what that means for daily life. Both East Hampton Village and Amagansett sit well out toward the eastern end of Long Island's South Fork, at a real physical distance from the larger population centers, and the town-wide population density of 381.9 people per square mile (2020) reflects a place built around space, not density of services. This research did not confirm the name, distance, or drive time to the nearest hospital or major medical center serving either East Hampton Village or Amagansett, and this page will not invent one to fill that gap.
That is a genuinely important unknown for anyone planning to age in place here, not a minor caveat. Before deciding this is the right place to spend retirement years, contact East Hampton Town's senior or aging services office and a local primary care practice directly to ask realistic questions: how far is routine care, how far is the nearest emergency department, and how does that distance change during peak summer traffic versus the quieter off-season months. A place can be genuinely peaceful and still require a clear-eyed answer to that question before a decision this size gets made.
A High-Cost, Low-Inventory Market for Most Retirees
No exact, current (2026) median home price, property tax rate, or flood insurance premium specific to East Hampton Village or Amagansett was independently confirmed during this research pass, and none is invented here. What is well documented is the general reputation of East Hampton and the broader Hamptons as among the most expensive residential real estate markets in the United States - a real, directional signal worth taking seriously, but a reputation, not a substitute for a verified current figure.
The Devon Colony makes that reputation harder to pin down with a single number, not easier: because its properties rarely enter the public real estate market and maintain real price discretion by design, a meaningful share of Amagansett's most significant homes simply are not reflected in whatever "average" or "median" figure a retiree might find online. No specific current Devon Colony property count, sale price, or named owning family beyond "Procter & Gamble executives" was confirmed in this research, and none is invented here. Combine that discretion with a genuinely older, higher-income village population already in place (median household income $106,250, poverty rate 3.4 percent of families) and the honest conclusion is straightforward: for most people considering retirement, this is a high-cost, low-inventory market, not a bargain corner of Long Island, and anyone weighing it should plan around that reality rather than around a hoped-for exception.
What This Page Will Not Invent, and Who to Ask Instead
This page will not state a current median home price, property tax rate, flood insurance premium, hospital name, or drive time for East Hampton Village or Amagansett, because none of those was independently confirmed during this research pass. It will not invent a Devon Colony sale price or property count where the market itself is built to avoid disclosing one, and it will not treat the general reputation of the Hamptons as expensive, or a single third-party median-age estimate, as a substitute for the specific answers a retirement decision actually requires.
Before making a retirement decision here, get current answers directly from the people who can actually give them: a local real estate agent who can speak to recent comparable sales and how much of the relevant inventory is even visible on the public market; the Town of East Hampton tax assessor's office for the current property tax rate on a specific parcel; a licensed insurance broker for a current flood insurance quote; and East Hampton Town's senior services office and a local primary care provider for a realistic picture of medical access and travel time. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, financial, insurance, or medical advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data drawn from research on East Hampton Village and Amagansett hamlet, New York. East Hampton Village's estimated 2024 median age is 57.5 years, with a 2024 median household income of $106,250, poverty rate of 3.4 percent of families, race/ethnicity of 68.5 percent White, 25.8 percent Hispanic, and 2.6 percent two or more races, a 2024 population estimate of 1,297, a 2026 projected estimate of 1,553, and a reported 49.3 percent population change from 2019 to 2024 (9.9 percent annual rate of change) - all third-party estimates rather than Census Bureau-confirmed figures at the village level for those specific years. Town of East Hampton (encompassing both East Hampton Village and Amagansett hamlet) Census figures: 2020 population 28,385, 2010 population 21,457, July 2025 estimate 29,400 (up 3.7 percent from April 2020), town-wide 2020 population density of 381.9 per square mile. No official Census Bureau hamlet-level population figure for Amagansett specifically was found. East Hampton Village was established in 1648 by Puritan settlers who laid out plantations around a wide common (today's Main Street area) on the plain north of Hook Pond, with home lots of 8 to 12 acres and surrounding farmland divided into the Eastern Plain, Great Plain, and Little Plain; historic structures include Hook Mill, Gardiner Windmill, and the Home Sweet Home house, restored under Historic District Consultant Robert J. Hefner. An artist colony developed in the final quarter of the 1800s, with modest shingled cottages near Ocean Avenue and Lily Pond Lane on the Great Plain and sizable estates on the Eastern Plain by the early 1900s. Amagansett was settled in 1680 (name derived from a Montaukett-language phrase meaning "place of good water") by the Baker, Conklin, and Barnes families and Dutch brothers Abraham and Jacob Schellinger (arrived 1680-1690). In the late 19th century, Procter & Gamble executives established the Devon Colony, an exclusive, generational-wealth enclave whose properties rarely enter the public real estate market and maintain price discretion; no specific current property count, price, or named family beyond "Procter & Gamble executives" was confirmed. On June 13, 1942, four Nazi saboteurs (George John Dasch, Ernest Peter Burger, Heinrich Harm Heinck, Richard Quirin) landed by U-boat on Amagansett's beach as part of Operation Pastorius; all were in custody within days after Dasch contacted the FBI, and of all eight saboteurs from both this team and a second Florida team, six were executed on August 8, 1942, while Dasch's and Burger's sentences were commuted - a fully resolved historical matter. No exact current (2026) median home price, property tax rate, or flood insurance premium specific to East Hampton Village or Amagansett was independently confirmed this research pass, and none is invented here; the general public reputation of the Hamptons as one of the most expensive real estate markets in the United States is presented only as directional context. No hospital name, distance, or drive time serving East Hampton Village or Amagansett was confirmed in this research, and none is invented here. This page does not reuse Montauk's lighthouse, Carl Fisher, or Camp Hero history, or Red Bank, New Jersey's Navesink River and Riverview Medical Center material - East Hampton Village's and Amagansett's founding, artist-colony, and Devon Colony histories are their own. Confirm current price, tax, insurance, and medical-access details with a local real estate agent, the Town of East Hampton tax assessor's office, a licensed insurance broker, East Hampton Town's senior services office, and a local primary care provider before making any retirement decision. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, financial, insurance, or medical advice.