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Poughkeepsie, NY

31,958 people · typical household income $60,741 · typical home price $283,700 · typical rent $1,400 a month

Compare towns All towns in New York · County: Dutchess County

At a glance

  • Stronger than most towns on: Diversity & community, Dining and entertainment and Walkability.
  • Weaker than most towns on: Space and yard size, Property taxes and Cost of living.
  • The 39th largest of the 1,219 towns we track in New York.
  • Typical household income is 27% below the typical town in New York.

A score of 60 or more is stronger than most towns. Under 40 is weaker than most.

Quick answers about Poughkeepsie

Where is Poughkeepsie?

Poughkeepsie is in Dutchess County, New York. Nearby towns include Arlington, Vassar College and Fairview CDP (Dutchess County).

What is the ZIP code for Poughkeepsie?

Poughkeepsie has 3 ZIP codes: 12601 , 12603 and 12604 . ZIP codes are mail delivery areas, not town borders, so check an address with the US Postal Service lookup.

How many people live in Poughkeepsie?

About 31,958 people live in Poughkeepsie , the 39th largest of the 1,219 towns we track in New York. This is a US Census Bureau estimate.

Is Poughkeepsie safe?

Poughkeepsie scores 71 out of 100 for safety, which is stronger than most towns we track. A higher score means lower crime. That includes 2.1 homicides per 100,000 people in the county. The state figure is 401 violent crimes per 100,000 people across the whole state.

How expensive is it to live in Poughkeepsie?

Poughkeepsie has everyday prices of 114.4 (100 is typical for the US), typical rent of $1,400 a month and a typical home price of $283,700. Its cost of living scores 16 out of 100 (a higher score means cheaper), which is weaker than most towns we track.

We compare this town with all 27,850 towns we track. A higher score is always better.

Cost of living 16 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Everyday prices (100 = typical for the US) 114.4 11%
Typical rent $1,400 25%

Jobs and income 27 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Typical household income $60,741 38%
Unemployment 8.8% 15%
Poverty rate 17.6% 26%

A place that is growing 64 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Change in population (5 years) +5.2% 61%
Change in income (5 years) +38.7% 68%

Home internet and working from home 75 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Homes with fast internet (whole county) 92.6% 86%
People who work from home 9.0% 52%

State taxes 26 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
State taxes per resident $6,613 12%
State income tax per resident $3,083 9%
State sales tax per resident $1,028 80%

Property taxes 9 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Property tax as a share of home price 2.02% 7%
Typical property tax paid $5,718 12%

Housing affordability 18 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Home price compared with yearly income 4.7× 18%
Share of income spent on rent 27.7% 9%
Typical home price $283,700 33%

Space and yard size 4 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Typical rooms per home 4.6 6%
Stand-alone houses 27.0% 2%
People per square mile 6,211 3%

Schools 39 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
High-school students in AP or IB classes 16.0% 69%
High-school students taking college classes 9.2% 43%
Students who miss 15+ days a year 37.8% 19%
Graduation rate (class of 2018 or 2019) 65.3% 2%
Students per teacher 12.2 70%
Children in poverty (context, not scored) 12.1% 52%

Diversity & community 97 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Variety of backgrounds (0 to 100) 72 99%
Residents born outside the US 22.5% 93%

Health and medical care 64 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Family doctors per 100,000 people (whole county) 71 63%
Dentists per 100,000 people (whole county) 72 70%
Mental-health providers per 100,000 people (whole county) 348 73%
Hospitals in town 2 99%
People without health insurance 9.0% 32%

Long, healthy lives 74 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Life expectancy (years) (whole county) 79.3 82%
Early deaths (before age 75) (whole county) 6,546 81%
Adults in fair or poor health 21.6% 31%
Adults who had a checkup this year 79.1% 93%

Safety 71 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Homicides per 100,000 people (whole county) 2.1 87%
Violent crime per 100,000 people (whole state) 401 40%

Clean air and low disaster risk 34 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Fine-particle air pollution (whole county) 8.3 38%
Risk of floods, storms and other disasters (0 to 100) (whole county) 88 30%

Short commute 58 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Average commute 24 min 58%

Walkability 78 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Walkability (1 = car needed, 20 = very walkable) 8.0 76%
People who walk, bike or ride to work 11.9% 93%

Public transit 40 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Buses and trains per hour 0.0 39%
Distance to the nearest stop (meters) 5,000 41%

Airport access 52 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Miles to major airport 63 52%

Dining and entertainment 89 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Restaurants and bars per 1,000 residents (whole county) 2.7 91%
Entertainment and recreation businesses per 1,000 residents (whole county) 0.68 86%

Weather 43 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Average temperature 54°F —
January low 23°F —
July high 87°F —
Yearly rain 43 in —
Yearly snow 30 in —

Pleasant weather for being outdoors 37 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Comfortable days per year 101 45%
Sunshine hours per year 3,175 22%

Other facts

Typical age38.1
Adults with a college degree31.9%
Hot days per year (90°F+)23
Freezing days per year (low 32°F or less)97
Residents who belong to a religious group (whole county)48.4%

More towns to explore

Nearby towns in New York

Largest towns in Dutchess County

Free tools for Poughkeepsie

Each calculator opens with this town's figures filled in. You can change any of them.

How we score towns, and where the figures come from

How we score

  • Cost of living: How expensive everyday life is compared with the rest of the US, adjusted for local rent, plus the typical rent.
  • Jobs and income: Typical household income, how many people are out of work, and how many live in poverty.
  • A place that is growing: How much the number of people and the typical income have grown between the two most recent Census survey periods (each covers five years).
  • Home internet and working from home: How many homes in the county have fast internet, and how many people work from home.
  • State taxes: Taxes each state government collects per resident: all taxes, income tax and sales tax (US Census). These are amounts collected, not what you would personally pay.
  • Property taxes: The typical property tax homeowners pay, and that tax as a share of the typical home price (US Census).
  • Housing affordability: Home prices compared with income, rent as a share of income, and the typical home price.
  • Space and yard size: Rooms per home, how many homes are stand-alone houses, and how spread out people are. We do not have yard or lot sizes from free sources.
  • Schools: The public schools located in the town: how many high-school students take AP/IB or college classes, how many students miss a lot of school, the graduation rate (older data) and class size. Child poverty is shown for context and is not scored. Towns with no high school or too little data are not rated. We do not have test scores yet.
  • Diversity & community: The mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the share of residents born outside the US.
  • Health and medical care: Open hospitals in each town, family doctors, dentists and mental-health providers per person (county), and how many people have no health insurance.
  • Long, healthy lives: How long people live and how many die early (county), and how many residents report fair or poor health or get regular checkups (CDC).
  • Safety: Homicides in the county (County Health Rankings) and the state rate of violent crime (FBI, when available).
  • Clean air and low disaster risk: Fine-particle air pollution (county) and the risk of floods, storms, fires and other disasters (county, from FEMA).
  • Short commute: Average commute time of people who travel to work.
  • Walkability: How easy it is to get around on foot near the town center (connected streets, shops close to homes), and how many people walk or bike to work.
  • Public transit: How often buses and trains run near the town center, and how far the nearest stop is.
  • Airport access: Distance in a straight line to the nearest large airport with passenger flights.
  • Dining and entertainment: Restaurants, cafes and bars for every 1,000 residents, and arts, entertainment and recreation businesses for every 1,000 residents, across the whole county (US Census).
  • Weather: How close the average temperature and seasons are to the climate you pick, plus comfortable days.
  • Pleasant weather for being outdoors: Days that are 65–85°F and dry, and hours of sunshine.

The religious group figure counts members and regular attendees of congregations (US Religion Census 2020). It comes from congregations, not a survey, so every town in a county shows the same figure.

Where the figures come from

  • Population, income, housing and jobs: American Community Survey (US Census), 2024, five-year estimates
  • Walkability and public transit: EPA Smart Location Database (neighborhoods near the town center)
  • County health figures: County Health Rankings 2025 (Dutchess County)
  • Disaster risk: FEMA National Risk Index (county)
  • Hospitals: US Homeland Security hospital list (HIFLD)
  • Nearest airport: OurAirports: nearest is LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
  • Health of residents: CDC local health estimates
  • Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis regional prices 2024 (state), adjusted by local rent
  • Safety: FBI crime data 2023 (state level)
  • State taxes: Census State Tax Collections FY2025 (state level, per resident)
  • Dining and entertainment: Census County Business Patterns 2023 (county, for every 1,000 residents)
  • Religious groups: US Religion Census 2020 (county level: members divided by population)
  • Weather: Open-Meteo archive 2024
  • Schools: US school district records (NCES) 2023 (20 public schools in town), US Education Department Civil Rights Data Collection (AP/IB, college classes, absences) 2021-22, graduation rates 2019, Census child poverty estimates 2024

These are estimates. Please check current listings and official sources before you decide.

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