Hempstead is a larger medium-sized village located in the state of New York. With a population of 59,569 people and 12 associated neighborhoods, Hempstead is the 17th largest community in New York.

Housing costs in Hempstead are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New York.

A relatively large number of people in Hempstead telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 7.33% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.

One downside of living in Hempstead is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Hempstead, the average commute to work is 32.79 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the village, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

For the size of the village, public transportation in Hempstead is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the bus. For Hempstead, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

The population of Hempstead overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Hempstead, 21.46% have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Hempstead in 2022 was $34,304, which is lower middle income relative to New York, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $137,216 for a family of four. However, Hempstead contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Hempstead is an extremely ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Hempstead home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Hempstead, accounting for 45.34% of the village’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Hempstead residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Hempstead include Jamaican, Haitian, Guyanese, Italian, and Irish.

Hempstead also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 38.64%.

The most common language spoken in Hempstead is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.