Wantagh real estate,
close to the ocean.

Wantagh calls itself the Gateway to Jones Beach. It covers about 3.8 square miles of land between Bellmore and Seaford, with roughly 6,200 homes, and prices here move with the water, the school district and even the mailing address. Here's how I walk buyers and sellers through town.

South of Merrick Road

Wantagh's south end runs down to the bay, with canal-front homes, bulkheads and docks. Wantagh Park, a 111-acre county park on King Road, has a marina and launch ramp (by permit), a fishing pier that's free all year, a pool complex for Nassau residents, courts, ballfields and walking paths.

Superstorm Sandy flooded canal neighborhoods along this stretch of the South Shore in 2012 and closed parts of the Wantagh Parkway. Low spots still matter: in 2025 the state announced $9.5 million for drainage work where the Wantagh Parkway meets Bay Parkway, a spot that floods at high tide in storms. On the water, the flood zone, the home's height and the bulkhead can move the price as much as the house. My guide to buying a waterfront home covers what to check.

Between Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway

The middle of Wantagh is mostly inland streets on both sides of Wantagh Avenue. A creek once called the Jerusalem River runs north to south through town; most of it is covered over now, but you can still see it between the Wantagh Parkway and the homes west of Wantagh Avenue. Flood zones don't follow the main roads, so look up any address on the FEMA flood map.

North of Sunrise Highway

Wantagh runs north past Jerusalem Avenue toward North Wantagh, and this is where school district lines matter most. Most of Wantagh is in the Wantagh Union Free School District: Forest Lake, Mandalay and Wantagh elementary schools, Wantagh Middle School and Wantagh High School. Homes north of Jerusalem Avenue are in the Levittown district, and a few areas on the eastern edge are in Seaford's. Check the district for every address before you compare prices.

Check the hamlet, not just the ZIP code

Wantagh homes use two ZIP codes, Wantagh's 11793 and Bellmore's 11710. A mailing address alone won't tell you which hamlet, school district or library district a home is in, and those decide the tax bill and the schools. I confirm all three before you make an offer.

Getting around

Express trains from the Wantagh station on the LIRR's Babylon Branch reach Penn Station in about 45 minutes, and the branch also serves Grand Central Madison; the MTA's TrainTime app has current times. Most station parking is for Town of Hempstead residents with a permit. The tracks have been elevated since 1968, and the Wantagh Railroad Complex, on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983, keeps the town's railroad history. By car, the Wantagh Parkway runs south to Jones Beach, with a bike path alongside it, the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway heads north, and Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road run east and west.

Taxes

Wantagh is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, so there's no village tax on the bill. Compare homes on the full tax before exemptions, because a seller's STAR or veterans exemption stays with the seller. Owners who think their assessment is too high can file a free grievance with the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission; the window usually closes March 1 (for 2027, it runs January 4 to March 1).

Selling in Wantagh

Wantagh homes are moving fast: a median of 18 days on market and 106.0% of list price, on average, in September 2026 (Redfin). When buyers pay over asking, the price you list at sets the tone for the first weekend. I price from recent sales in your part of Wantagh and your school district, then plan the launch so the strongest buyers see it first.