Beacon, New York

Area Profile

14,834 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Beacon, in Dutchess County.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 18% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 19% of 4,199 cities measured73
SchoolsTop 44% of 4,162 cities measured54
GrowthTop 16% of 4,224 cities measured70
Housing affordabilityTop 32% of 4,218 cities measured73
Climate3,358th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 39% of 4,226 cities measured68
AccessTop 4% of 4,226 cities measured100
Economic stabilityTop 45% of 4,226 cities measured61
The quick read

Beacon ranks in the top 19% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $107,859. The unemployment rate is published for Dutchess County, NY, which contains Beacon, rather than for Beacon alone.

In the public schools here, 62% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.1 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 71 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 184% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
14,834
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$107,859
Top 14% nationally
Density
3,130/sq mi
4.7 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New York
Nearest major airport
SWF
7 mi · New York Stewart Intl
Median home value
$471,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Dutchess County, NY, which contains Beacon, is 3.7%, lower than in 74% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Dutchess County, NY, which contains Beacon, grew 0.1% over the past year, to 148,868 employed residents.

49% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $107,859 is higher than in 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDutchess County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$96,97378th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDutchess County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$85,48471st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$21,4012024 ACS 5-Year$107,859Top 14%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,2952024 ACS 5-Year$58,996Top 11%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%Top 44%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year41.7 minBottom 6%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year48.9%Top 12%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year58.3%11th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDutchess County, NY’s figureJuly 2026148,868Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Dutchess County, NY’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Dutchess County, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Top 33%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDutchess County, NY’s figureJuly 2026154,66563rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%Top 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageKiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,700Bottom 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageKiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,990Bottom 48%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%99th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Dutchess County, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDutchess County, NY’s figureJuly 20263.7%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year21.2%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024108k93k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $107,859 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides10,750$39,040
Retail Salespersons9,890$36,160
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand7,030$44,510
Stockers and Order Fillers6,500$40,350
Fast Food and Counter Workers6,280$35,320
Registered Nurses5,760$102,890

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Dutchess County, NY, which contains this city.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.1 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.0%
Bottom 33% in New York
Reading proficiency
63.7%
Top 44% in New York
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Beacon High SchoolBEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT83110.787%92%
Rombout Middle SchoolBEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT5929.742%42%
Sargent SchoolBEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT2859.852%42%
South Avenue SchoolBEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT24410.247%52%
J V Forrestal Elementary SchoolBEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT2349.452%57%

41.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 109.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area is up 49% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $7,958 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.69% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,979, some 19% above the $1,658 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,979 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $79,200 a year, about 73% of the median household income here of $107,859.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,658 a month.

A median home at $471,600 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $135,274, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
109.7

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,979
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,658
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$471,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Beacon’s median household income of $107,859, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area’s figure2023109.7Bottom 23%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.4%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+110.7%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 25%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year61.1%22nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3762024 ACS 5-Year6,75391st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,549Bottom 40%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,511Bottom 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,979Bottom 33%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1452024 ACS 5-Year$1,658Bottom 15%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$27,4152024 ACS 5-Year$471,60087th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$5972024 ACS 5-Year$7,95898th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$17,4932024 ACS 5-Year$135,274Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.16%2024 ACS 5-Year1.69%85th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year27.6%Top 46%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±422024 ACS 5-Year2876th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%28th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1182024 ACS 5-Year24681st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

70/ 100
Top 16% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 7% since 2020, reaching 15,292 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 69 units authorized in 2025, up 86% on the prior year.

93% of the 71 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Dutchess County, which contains Beacon, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $96,973, above the $85,484 of households that moved out.

At 4.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
71
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.8
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
+184%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
93.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k14k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
30%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$96,973
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$85,484
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Westchester County, NY 1,693 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Bronx County, NY 854 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  3. Ulster County, NY 749 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  4. Orange County, NY 745 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  5. Putnam County, NY 716 people · 6.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Ulster County, NY 946 people · 8.5% of departures
  2. Orange County, NY 750 people · 6.7% of departures
  3. Westchester County, NY 638 people · 5.7% of departures
  4. New York County, NY 387 people · 3.5% of departures
  5. Putnam County, NY 347 people · 3.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Dutchess County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420259237
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−25%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 35, in the Good band, and about 5 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station POUGHKEEPSIE DUTCHESS CO AP, 9.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year472024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year52024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year352024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
35
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
47
90th percentile index
Days above 100
5
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 70% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingModerate
LandslideModerate
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, lightning, winter weather, ice storm, cold wave, hail, tornado, wildfire, coastal flooding, avalanche, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
90
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
540
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Beacon's police department reported 90 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 540.

Dutchess County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.5 per 100,000 residents in Dutchess County.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Beacon’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Beacon (Dutchess County) rather than Beacon itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest New York Stewart Intl at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year93.9%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 16%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle7Top 13%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
New York Stewart IntlSWF7 mi11,817 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR57 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK60 mi14,511 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
68
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Other cities in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Kiryas JoelOrange County38,91654Kiryas Joel vs Beacon
PoughkeepsieDutchess County31,95854Poughkeepsie vs Beacon
MiddletownOrange County30,28956Middletown vs Beacon
NewburghOrange County28,51954
WoodburyOrange County11,33464
Myers CornerDutchess County10,87764
ScotchtownOrange County10,25266

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Beacon side by side with a similar place.

Beacon vs ScotchtownBeacon vs Ammon

Moving to Beacon from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Beacon

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Beacon with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1250819,566$92,461$445,10069