County outline
Where Dutchess County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 96.4% of Dutchess County’s measured area and water for 3.6%. Its combined area converts to 2,137.5 square kilometers or approximately 528,189 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 795.602 | 2,060.6 | 509,185.3 |
| Water | 29.694 | 76.907 | 19,004.2 |
| Total | 825.296 | 2,137.507 | 528,189.4 |
How Dutchess County compares
By original Census land area, Dutchess County ranks #26 of 62 in New York and #1076 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.217 times the New York county-equivalent median of 653.7 square miles. It accounts for 1.7% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete New York ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Dutchess County
The Census Bureau estimates that 300,708 people lived in Dutchess County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #247 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #15 of 62 in New York. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 297,018, the population has grown by 3,690 (+1.2%), compared with −1% for New York as a whole.
With 795.6 square miles of land, that is 378 people per square mile (146 per km²), placing Dutchess County #431 nationally for density and #18 in New York. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the New York median is 112. Put another way, there are about 1.7 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 296,309 | 297,659 | 297,214 | 297,451 | 299,256 | 300,708 |
| Change | — | +1,350 | −445 | +237 | +1,805 | +1,452 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Dutchess County
Dutchess County is divided into 22 cities and towns. In New York, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Poughkeepsie town, with 45,986 residents (15.3% of the county). The largest by land is Washington town, at 58 mi², or 7.3% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Amenia town grew fastest since then (+7.6%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poughkeepsie townCounty seat | 45,986 | +0.9% | 28.5 | 3.6% |
| Poughkeepsie cityCounty seat | 32,499 | +2.9% | 5.145 | 0.6% |
| East Fishkill town | 29,801 | +0.3% | 56.6 | 7.1% |
| Wappinger town | 28,215 | +0% | 27.1 | 3.4% |
| Fishkill town | 22,937 | −2.8% | 27.3 | 3.4% |
| Hyde Park town | 21,394 | +2% | 36.6 | 4.6% |
| LaGrange town | 16,689 | +4.4% | 39.9 | 5% |
| Beacon city | 14,931 | +3.8% | 4.739 | 0.6% |
| Beekman town | 14,358 | +1.3% | 30.2 | 3.8% |
| Red Hook town | 11,129 | +1% | 36.1 | 4.5% |
| Pleasant Valley town | 9,822 | +0.2% | 32.6 | 4.1% |
| Dover town | 8,419 | +0.1% | 55.2 | 6.9% |
| Pawling town | 8,316 | +4% | 44 | 5.5% |
| Rhinebeck town | 7,658 | +0.8% | 35.7 | 4.5% |
| Union Vale town | 4,590 | +0.7% | 37 | 4.7% |
Show the other 7 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington town | 4,502 | −0.1% | 58 |
| Clinton town | 4,082 | +1.1% | 38.1 |
| Amenia town | 4,052 | +7.6% | 43.3 |
| Stanford town | 3,703 | +0.6% | 49.6 |
| North East town | 2,990 | +0.5% | 43.2 |
| Milan town | 2,328 | +3.4% | 36.1 |
| Pine Plains town | 2,307 | +3.9% | 30.6 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Dutchess County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Dutchess County is a central county of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2 county equivalents have 718,377 residents on 1,607.7 square miles of land; Dutchess County accounts for 49.5% of the land and 41.9% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #203 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #85 by population. It belongs to the New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Orange County | 417,669 | 812.1 |
| Dutchess County | 300,708 | 795.6 |
ZIP codes
35 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Dutchess County; 34 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
1051212501125041250712508125121251412522125241252712531125331253812540125451254612564125671256912570125711257212574125781258012581125821258312585125901259212594126011260312604
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Dutchess County
Dutchess County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents, including 3 in Connecticut and Massachusetts. It has more land than 4 of them. The largest neighbor is Ulster County (1,124.2 mi²) and the smallest is Putnam County (230.3 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Dutchess County forms a block of 5,842.5 mi² of land, of which it holds 13.6%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Dutchess | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster County | 1,124.2 | 1.4× larger | Compare |
| Berkshire CountyMassachusetts | 926.9 | 1.2× larger | Compare |
| Orange County | 812.1 | about the same | Compare |
| Northwest Hills Planning RegionConnecticut | 786.6 | about the same | Compare |
| Columbia County | 634.7 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Western Connecticut Planning RegionConnecticut | 532.1 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Putnam County | 230.3 | 3.5× smaller | Compare |
How big is Dutchess County compared with U.S. states?
Dutchess County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.3 times as much. New York’s county land could hold about 59 areas the size of Dutchess County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 28.2 miles (45.4 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Dutchess County?
Dutchess County has more land than 2,146 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Dutchess County at #1,125 nationally by total area, 49 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 3.6%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 2.4 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Dutchess County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1075 | Washburn County, Wisconsin | 797.1 | Compare |
| #1076 | Dutchess County, New York | 795.6 | This county |
| #1077 | Shelby County, Texas | 795.6 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 41.754924, -73.740050. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 2,060,598,592 m²; AWATER: 76,906,716 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Dutchess County?
Dutchess County, New York has 795.6 square miles (2,060.6 km²) of land and 29.7 square miles of water, for a total area of 825.3 square miles. It ranks #1076 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Dutchess County the largest county in New York?
No. Dutchess County ranks #26 of 62 in New York by land area. The largest is St. Lawrence County, with 2,679.5 square miles of land.
What counties border Dutchess County?
Dutchess County shares a land border with Ulster County, Columbia County, Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Putnam County, Orange County, Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
What is the population of Dutchess County?
The Census Bureau estimates Dutchess County had 300,708 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #247 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 378 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Dutchess County?
The county seat of Dutchess County is Poughkeepsie.
What cities and towns are in Dutchess County?
Dutchess County has 22 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Poughkeepsie town, Poughkeepsie city, East Fishkill town, Wappinger town, and Fishkill town.
Is Dutchess County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 2 county equivalents and 718,377 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Dutchess County?
35 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Dutchess County, and 34 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Dutchess County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.3 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Dutchess County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 509,185 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 528,189 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.