Hempstead, New York
29 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1897 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Hempstead town. It lies in ZIP code area 11550. The Survey maps it on the Freeport quadrangle. 59,169 people lived here at the 2020 count.
Then and now
1897 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 97 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1897 against another survey:
On record in Hempstead
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 4 records
Hempstead Town halllisted 2018
Rectory of St. George's Episcopal Churchlisted 1988
St. George's Churchlisted 1973
US Post Office-Hempsteadlisted 1988
Population over time
2 figuresHempstead grew from 53,891 to 59,169 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 53,891 | |
| 2020 | 59,169 | +5,278 (+10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 29 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1897 USGS Hempstead quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Hempstead quadrangle1:62500
- 1899 USGS Hempstead quadrangle1:62500
- 1903 USGS Hempstead quadrangle1:62500, 9 printings
- 1947 USGS Freeport quadrangle1:24000
- 1949 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Freeport quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Freeport quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Long Island West quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Freeport quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
1,519 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,519 fires within 5 miles of Hempstead between 1992 and 2020, burning about 637 acres in total. 62 started naturally. 178 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 913 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 178 |
| Smoking | 176 |
| Natural | 62 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 61 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 58 |
| Debris and open burning | 26 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 22 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 20 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 9 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2015 | Smoking | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | NA |
| 8 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2010 | Smoking | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 7 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
11 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hempstead in 11 storm reports between 2006 and 2023: 4 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2011 | Flash Flood | Hempstead | $100,000 | Extensive flood damage was reported at the One Offering Tabernacle of God Church on Clinton St. in Hempstead. The church's organ, van, printers, furniture, religious artifacts, robes and several computers were destroyed. Several other vehicles in the church's parking lot were also damaged by flood waters. Numerous residents of Lido Beach, Long Beach and E. Atlantic Beach also sustained damage from flood waters entering their homes. National Blvd. was underwater, while Loop Pkwy. and portions of Lido Blvd. were closed due to flooding. Property damage amounts are estimated. |
| August 2018 | Lightning | Hempstead | $6,000 | Lightning struck Prospect Elmementary School causing fire. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Hempstead | $5,000 | Numerous trees were downed. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Hempstead | $1,000 | One tree was reported down in Rockville Centre. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | South Hempstead | - | Motorist Stranded in flood waters on N Centre Ave. Fire department responding for water rescue. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | South Hempstead | - | Public report from mPing of vehicle stranded in flood waters. |
| July 2009 | Flash Flood | South Hempstead | - | Long Beach Rd. was closed due to flooding. |
| August 2011 | Hail | Hempstead | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Hempstead | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | West Hempstead | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hempstead | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uniondale | 1.4 miles | 29 | |
| Hempstead Gardens | 1.6 miles | 29 | |
| Garden City | 1.6 miles | 29 | |
| West Hempstead | 1.7 miles | 29 | |
| South Hempstead | 1.8 miles | 29 | |
| East Garden City | 2.0 miles | 29 | |
| Garden City South | 2.3 miles | 29 | |
| Lakeview | 2.3 miles | 29 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Hempstead | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3358175 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 952574. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.














