Riverhead is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New York. With a population of 14,993 people and six associated neighborhoods, Riverhead is the 128th largest community in New York. Much of the housing stock in Riverhead was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Riverhead economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Riverhead, where the median household income is $73,197.00.

Housing costs in Riverhead 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.

Riverhead is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

The percentage of adults in Riverhead with college degrees is slightly lower than the national average of 21.84% for all communities. 16.86% of adults in Riverhead have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Riverhead in 2022 was $38,691, which is middle income relative to New York, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $154,764 for a family of four. However, Riverhead contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Riverhead is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Riverhead home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Riverhead residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Riverhead also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 32.56% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Riverhead include Italian, Polish, German, Irish, and English.

In addition, Riverhead has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (28.99%).

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