Belle Terre is a village in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 808 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
thumb|left|View of Mount Misery Point, in northern Belle Terre
thumb|left|The Belle Terre Club, an opulent private clubhouse that stood from 1906 to 1934
thumb|left|One of the pergolas that overlooked Port Jefferson Harbor prior to being dismantled in 1934
The peninsula on which the community of Belle Terre is situated has been known as Mt. Misery since the 17th century. Before Belle Terre's modern existence, the area was referred to as Mt. Misery Point. By comparison, the lower portion of the peninsula, which is currently a section of the neighboring village of Port Jefferson, was referred to as Mt. Misery Neck.
The Belle Terre Club was destroyed in a fire in 1934, the same year as the pergolas were deconstructed due to the financial burden of their upkeep. Due to a lapse in insurance coverage, the clubhouse was never rebuilt – although a new country club opened in the Port Jefferson section of the Mt. Misery peninsula in 1956. All access to the village by way of land is from the neighboring village of Port Jefferson, which additionally serves as Belle Terre's nearest commercial center and transportation hub.
As of the census of 2010, there were 792 people, 286 households, and 224 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 92.6% White, 1.3% African American, 3.3% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.9% of the population.
There were 286 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.0% were married couples living together, 2.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 persons and the average family size was 3.10 persons.
As of the census of 2000, the population density was . There were 297 housing units at an average density of .
In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 36.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older, and the median age for the village was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.5 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $132,155, and the median income for a family was $144,708. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,156 for females. The per capita income for the village was $56,191. None of the families and 1.4% of the population were living below the poverty threshold, including none under the age of 18 and 3.2% of those over the age of 64.
Government
As of April 2025, the Mayor of Belle Terre is Bob Sandak, the Deputy Mayor is Jacquelyn Gernaey, and the Village Trustees are Leza Di Bella, Michael Solo, and Jim von Oiste.
Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas
Belle Terre is known for a law that evicted students from a nearby university campus, the Stony Brook University, who were leasing shared housing in the village. In 1974, in the case Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the local ordinance.