[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.4 km2 (1.3 mi2), of which 3.4 km2 (1.3 mi2) is land and 0.76% is water.

25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

A significant portion of life in the village centered around Atlantic Union College, a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) institution of higher learning founded in 1882.

The village is home to the Southern New England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, along with the SDA church owned South Lancaster Academy.

The college music department was housed in the Nathaniel Thayer Estate, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was the Thayer Performing Arts Center until its closure in 2020.