art and design by Steve Gold

Beacon Demographics
Tour Guide Category

• Population
• Taxes
• Geography
• Transportation Links
• Beacon Points of Interest
• Shopping Areas
• Travel Directions to Beacon
• Lodging
• Regional Map

Information Links

• Wikipedia

Population...

• The population of the City of Beacon has remained relatively stable over the past 50
  years, while the population of Dutchess County has grown steadily, doubling in 50
  years, from approximately 140,000 persons in 1950 to approximately 280,000 in 2000.
  The City’s population reached a high point in 1950 with approximately 14,000 people at
  about the same time that Poughkeepsie and Newburgh reached their highest population
  marks. Meanwhile, rural areas such as Wappinger and Fishkill
  grew rapidly due to improvements in automobile transportation. While Poughkeepsie
  and Newburg lost over 10,000 residents each in the 30 years between 1950 and 1980,
  Beacon’s population dropped just slightly, reaching a population of approximately
  13,000 in 1980. Since then, the City’s population has gradually rebounded, and is now
  approaching the 14,000 mark, with a count of 13,839 persons in the 2000 Census.
   
• Diversity of People: Beacon is more ethnically and racially diverse than both Dutchess County and Westchester County. Beacon has approximately 2,400 African-Americans and 2,300
  Latinos, compared with approximately 8,500 non-Latino Whites. Beacon has
  approximately twice the proportion of African-Americans and Latinos of Dutchess
  County, which has 8.8 percent African-Americans and 6.3 percent Latinos. Minority
  groups have grown moderately in Beacon over the past decade. African-Americans and
  Latinos increased from 14 percent to 17 percent, and Asians increased from less than one
  percent to three percent of the total population.
   
• Click here for census 2000 information
   
• The City’s median household income ($45,236), median family income
  ($53,811)
   
• The median sales price for a single-family detached home in 1998 was $98,500;
  in 2004, the cost was more than twice that, at $207,750.
   
• Households: There was a total of 5,119 households in the City in 2000, of which 2,355 (46%) were families. Approximately 46% of the households in the City consisted of married
  couples. Thirty-five percent (35%) of the City’s households (or 1,769 households)
  contained children under the age of 18
   

Taxes...

• 2005 Statistics: The average market value is $156,000, City taxes $1,119, School is $2,205.00 and water and sewer are $120 a quarter. In addition to Police, street maintenance, and building safety, city taxes include once weekly trash pickup, street lighting, and fire protection. By comparison, in a general town district, those services are not included in the tax structure.

Geography...

• Located 60 miles north of New York City on the banks of the Hudson River and 90 miles south of the State Capital at Albany.
• Borders:  
  North: Town of Fishkill with the Village of Wappingers Falls being the nearest large community
  East: Town of Fishkill with the Village of Fishkill being the nearest large community
  South: Hudson Highlands State Park
  West: Hudson River
• 4.7 square miles
• 50 miles of road and approximately 208 streets. 

Transportation Links...

• Directly adjacent to Interstate 84 (exit 11)
• NY State Thruway (exit 17, 8 miles) 
• Taconic State Parkway (10 miles)
• Stewart International Airport, (8 miles, where 6 airlines  including American, Delta, and USAIR depart 35 times daily to all major U.S. hubs, including Chicago and Raleigh Durham.)
• Commuter rail access provided by Metro North (frequent express service to New York City) and Amtrak (nearest station stop is Poughkeepsie 15 miles from Beacon).

Shopping...

• Beacon Main Street contains antique shopping, boutiques, restaurants and more.
• Galleria Mall, Route 9 Wappingers Falls (15 min)
• South Hills Mall, Route 9 Wappingers Falls (15 min)

Travel Directions...

• From the North:
  New York State Thruway South to exit 17 
  to Interstate 84 East to Exit 11 
  to Beacon, turn right.
  
  Directions from the Taconic State Parkway South,
  TSP exit Interstate 84 
  Interstate 84 West to Exit 11 
  to Beacon, turn left
  
• From the East:
  Interstate 84 West to exit 11 
  to Beacon, turn left
  
• From the South
  New York State Thruway North to exit 17
  Interstate 84 East to exit 11 
  to Beacon, turn right
  
  Taconic State Parkway North to Interstate 84 west
  Interstate 84 west to exit 11 
  to Beacon, turn left
  
  Interstate 684 North to exit Interstate 84 west
  Interstate 84 west to exit 11 
  to Beacon, turn left
  
• From the West
  Interstate 84 East, over the Newburgh Beacon Bridge
  to exit 11 Beacon, turn right

Lodging...

• Right now there is no public overnight accommodations in Beacon, although in a few years the waterfront hotel will be there, and there are some B&B's in the works. Right now the closest accommodations are in Fishkill (about 5 miles east) or across the river in Newburgh (about the same distance).
• A comprehensive listing of accommodations is found at the following link:
  http://www.dutchesstourism.com/lodging.asp . (Provided by www.dutchesstourism.com)

Map...