Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wappingers Falls grades B+ overall, 235th among New York's 745 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. It reports less crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $504K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Kiryas Joel metro’s $98K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. Wappingers Falls’ trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, where New York’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Grinnell - Satterlee House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 10 of the 758 New York towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than Wappingers Falls.
Where Wappingers Falls beats most towns.
5,522 counted in 2010 and 6,103 in 2020; an estimated 6,048 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Wappingers Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,263 in 1870, 6,103 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wappingers Falls. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
11 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
40 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
13 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a year
15 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
8 mi MuseumDia BeaconUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · Dia Beacon: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wappingers Falls, 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 Wappingers Falls.
Wappingers Falls is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has commutes shorter than most of New York and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mesier Park | 0.5 mi | 6 |
| 2. Veterans' Memorial Park | — | 6 |
| 3. James J. Temple Memorial Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 8.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 66% of New York’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 81 to 15 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Wappingers Falls’ property crime rate is 2.3 per 1,000 residents, against 7.6 in New York’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. The violent crime rate in Wappingers Falls is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Wappingers Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,934 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wappingers Falls’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Wappingers Falls beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 36% of adults feel lonely in Wappingers Falls.
| Wappingers Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Wappingers Falls | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 10% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 59.4% | 63.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Wappingers Falls has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. Wappingers Falls’ July high is 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,614 working residents takes 23.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. Jobs based here grew from 2,678 in 2013 to 3,482.
Most working residents leave Wappingers Falls for work: only 7% work in town. 3.8% of Wappingers Falls residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Wappingers Falls grew to 3,482 in 2023, 804 more than in 2013.
| Wappingers Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.9% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wappingers Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical home values rose 5% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of Wappingers Falls
About 6 of every 100 Wappingers Falls residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
6 notable people were born in Wappingers Falls.
Village in New York, United States
Wappingers Falls is a village in the towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger, in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Wappingers Falls had a population of 6,103. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappingers Falls post office covers areas in the towns of Wappinger, Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, East Fishkill, and LaGrange. This can result in some confusion when residents of the outlying towns, who do not live in the village, give their address as "Wappingers Falls". Grinnell Library, located in the village, is the sixth-oldest library in the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Wappingers Falls.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wappingers Falls | #235 | B+ | C− | A− | B+ | B+ |
| New Hamburg | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Myers Corner | — | — | — | — | — | — |
New Hamburg and Myers Corner aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wappingers Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wappingers Falls grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #235 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
6 notable people were born here, including Tyler Adams and Jack Mulhall.
