Nassau County History | From Exclusion to Inclusion: How Shifting Demographics Demonstrate the Power of Fair Housing in Action

Jul 5

Once defined by intentional exclusion, Nassau County has evolved into one of New York's most diverse suburban communities, but demographic change alone doesn't guarantee equity. Here's what the data shows, and what should continue.

1.39M Current estimated population
46% Residents who identify as people of color
23% Foreign-born residents
64.3% Diversity index (2024 est.)

A Suburban Legacy Built on Exclusion

I have lived in Levittown for 15 years. In that time, I have watched this community change in ways that would have been hard to imagine when the neighborhood was first built, and harder still to imagine for the families who were never allowed to live here at all.

Levittown is widely regarded as the first large-scale planned suburban community in postwar America, a development that helped define what "suburb" meant for a generation of families.¹ But that promise was not extended to everyone. Levittown's original lease agreements explicitly prohibited Black residents from living there; clause 25 of the standard lease stated the property could not be "used or occupied by any person other than members of the Caucasian race." ² This was no isolated policy. Across Nassau County, a combination of racially restrictive covenants, redlining by federally backed lenders, and discriminatory real estate practices systematically locked communities of color out of the postwar suburban boom. ³

Redlining, which is the practice of denying mortgages or insurance to residents in neighborhoods deemed "risky" based on racial composition, was actively supported by the Federal Housing Administration and shaped where families of color could and could not live for decades.⁴ According to researchers, by the time the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968, segregation was already deeply entrenched across Long Island, and its effects continue to be felt today.⁵

The Numbers Behind the Shift

The Nassau County I moved to 15 years ago looked different from the one I live in today, and the data reflects exactly what I have seen on the ground. In 2000, Nassau County's population was approximately 73% white. By the time of the 2020 Census, that figure had dropped to around 56%. The county's Hispanic community makes up nearly 19% of the population, Asian residents account for about 12%, and Black residents represent roughly 11%. The immigrant population tells a similar story. Today, roughly one in four Nassau County residents were born outside the United States, representing dozens of countries and languages and contributing to the cultural fabric of communities from Elmont and Freeport to Mineola and Westbury. By 2025, Nassau's population was approaching 1.4 million, driven in significant part by growth in its Asian resident community, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. ⁷

The Organizations Fighting for Progress

This growth in diversity has not happened by accident, it has been shaped in part by decades of advocacy and legal enforcement. Organizations like ERASE Racism and Long Island Housing Services have spent years conducting discrimination investigations, filing civil rights complaints, and pushing for stronger local protections. ⁸

Their work paid off in 2007, when strengthened fair housing laws took effect in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, expanding protections beyond the federal Fair Housing Act to include source of income, age, sexual orientation, and marital status.⁹ ERASE Racism has filed civil rights complaints with HUD directly against Nassau County, alleging that county housing programs perpetuated racial segregation.¹⁰ Long Island Housing Services, the only private fair housing enforcement agency serving both Nassau and Suffolk counties, has successfully challenged discriminatory landlords, real estate agents, and developers in landmark cases dating back decades.¹¹

For residents looking to learn more or report housing discrimination, both organizations offer resources and support:

ERASE Racism: www.eraseracismny.org

Long Island Housing Services: www.lifairhousing.org

What Fair Housing Month Means for a Changing County

Fair Housing Month is an opportunity to reflect on both how far Nassau County has come and how far it still must go. Living here, I see the change every day. I walk through Hicksville or Hempstead, and I hear a dozen languages. Exploring Elmont or Westbury and you will find restaurants serving everything from West African stews to South Asian Street food to Latin American staples. Cultural festivals and community events increasingly reflect the full breadth of who calls Nassau home. Even Levittown, the neighborhood built originally to keep people out, looks nothing like it did in 1951. That is not a small thing. That is a community rewriting its own story.

“Segregation and housing discrimination harms us all. It keeps communities of color from accessing resources—and it keeps majority-white communities from experiencing the benefits of diversity.”—Ian Wilder, Long Island Housing Services

But diversity at the county level does not automatically mean equity at the neighborhood level. Long Island has been identified by researchers as one of the most residentially segregated suburban regions in the United States.¹² Communities of color remain concentrated in specific areas such as Hempstead, Roosevelt, Uniondale, and Elmont, while many other Nassau communities remain overwhelmingly white. In 2019, a landmark Newsday investigation called "Long Island Divided" documented real estate agents steering homebuyers of color away from certain neighborhoods, proving that discriminatory housing practices did not end with the Fair Housing Act, they evolved.¹³

Exclusionary zoning, specifically, single-family-only zoning rules that ban multifamily housing across more than 92% of Long Island's buildable land, continues to limit where affordable housing can be built, disproportionately affecting communities of color.¹⁴

What You Can Do

At OneKey® MLS, we believe that access to accurate, comprehensive real estate data is a cornerstone of fair housing. When every buyer and the agent who represents them can search the same listings and connect with the same market intelligence through OneKeyMLS, we move closer to the future that fair housing law has always envisioned: an open marketplace, where the opportunity to compete for the home of your dreams is equitable; and where you live is determined by your choices, not your background.

But data alone is not enough. Real progress requires people who are informed, engaged, and willing to act. This Fair Housing Month, we encourage everyone in the New York real estate community to take a concrete step forward, whether that means brushing up on your REALTOR® mandated fair housing training, rights and responsibilities, continuing to enter and update your listings promptly and in compliance with fair housing guidelines, reporting suspected discrimination, and/or supporting the local organizations that have been fighting on behalf of fair housing for decades.

Support the organizations on the front lines:

ERASE Racism: www.eraseracismny.org

Long Island Housing Services: www.lifairhousing.org

Revisit your local REALTOR® association resources and educational programs:

Long Island Board of REALTORs® (LIBOR): https://www.lirealtor.com/brokers-agents/fair-housing

Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORs® (HGAR): https://hgar.com/fair-housing

Nassau County’s story is still being written. Having watched it change from my own front yard I can tell you the shift is real, and it is something worth protecting. The promise of fair housing that every person has the right to access, to choose where they live, free from discrimination, is only as strong as our collective commitment to uphold it. This and every month, OneKey® MLS is proud to stand behind that commitment.

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Hamid Mehnat