Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Beacon grades B overall, 303rd among New York's 745 graded towns. It has 9 miles of trail. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 88% of the country. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $572K for a typical one and 5.8 times the Kiryas Joel metro’s $98K median household income. Beacon’s average trip to work is 41 minutes, where New York’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Beacon is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. Beacon has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Eustatia and US Post Office-Beacon.
Where Beacon beats most towns.
Census counts: 10,996 in 1920, 13,769 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 4 maps from 1903 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Beacon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Beacon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
18 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
in town MuseumDia Beacon
34 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
8 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
7 mi LandmarkWest Point CemeteryUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dia Beacon: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · West Point Cemetery: Ahodges7, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beacon, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Beacon.
Beacon trades workers with New York City and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
8.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Beacon’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile. Hudson Highlands State Park, at 188 acres with 1.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hudson Highlands State Park | 1.6 mi | 188 |
| 2. Long Dock Park | 1.6 mi | 21 |
| 3. Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park | 0.7 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Beacon City School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Beacon High School, with 831 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rombout Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 592 | B |
| Beacon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 831 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
29% of adults have obesity in Beacon. Beacon beats the New York average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Beacon.
| Beacon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Beacon | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.9% | 12.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.8% | 17.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 10.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 58% of New York’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 14 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Beacon is 5.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Beacon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Beacon has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 19° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 47% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). 49% of Beacon adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Beacon has grown 3.8% since 2020, to 14,931 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Beacon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 42 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.8, men 41.0.
| Beacon | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.7% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.6% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.2% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 11.3% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.6% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 87% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $304 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beacon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Beacon has about as many jobs (4,714) as working residents, but only 783 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 41.4 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Beacon for work: only 15% work in town. Jobs based in Beacon grew to 4,714 in 2023, 824 more than in 2013. The top destinations are New York (16%), Fishkill (5%) and Poughkeepsie (4%).
| Beacon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Typical home values rose 6.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Beacon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,658 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Beacon
About 2 of every 100 Beacon residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
15,541 counted in 2010 and 13,769 in 2020; an estimated 14,931 in 2025.
The decline has turned around: up 3.8% since 2020, after a 11.4% drop in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
13 places in Beacon on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Beacon.
City in New York, United States
Beacon is a city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. Beacon is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Beacon was so named to commemorate the historic beacon fires that blazed forth from the summit of the Fishkill Mountains to alert the Continental Army of British troop movements. Originally an industrial city along the Hudson, Beacon experienced a revival beginning in 2003 with the arrival of Dia Beacon, one of the largest modern art museums in the United States. Recent growth has generated debates on development and zoning …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Beacon grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #303 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
14 notable people were born here, including Robert Montgomery and James Forrestal.
