What the Census Information Means for Dutchess County

Dutchess County has changed over the past decade, but in what ways has it changed and how does this affect our residents?  Just over 280,000 people called Dutchess County home in 2000, an increase of over 20,000 people since the 1990 census.  With this increase in population comes change in how people get to work, how far they travel daily, and how many vehicles are available per household.  The following information explains the changes over the past decade and what this means for Dutchess County.

Journey to Work (.pdf)

The information presented on the Comparison of 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 (.pdf) Table summarizes how people traveled to work over the last 30 years. Mostly, the table focuses on the information provided in the 1990 and the 2000 census. The commuters are divided into five categories; those who drive alone, car pool, use mass transit, walk, or other (which includes bicycling and motorcycling). There is also a provision made for those who work from their homes.

In 2000, over 80% of all Dutchess County workers drove alone to work (.pdf). The Town of Pleasant Valley had the highest percentage of people driving alone to work at 89.1%. The City of Poughkeepsie had the lowest percentage of people driving alone to work with 68.1%.

Carpooling (.pdf) was the second most popular community option in Dutchess County. The Town of Pine Plains had 15.2% of its commuters carpooling to work, the highest percentage in Dutchess County. The Village of Rhinebeck had the lowest percentage of carpoolers with just 2.7%.

Mass transit (.pdf) is used by less than 4% of commuters throughout Dutchess County. The City of Poughkeepsie had the most people using mass transit, but it was only 10.2% of the population.  The Town of Union Vale had only 0.7% of its workers using mass transit.

The number of commuters who walk to work (.pdf) has also fluctuated in the last ten years. The Village of Millbrook had the highest percentage of residents walking to work with 11.5%. The Town of Beekman had the lowest percentage of residents walking to work with only 0.3%.

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The number of people working at home (.pdf) has increased in most communities since 1990. The Town of Rhinebeck had the highest percentage of residents who work at home with 9.5%. The Village of Wappingers Falls had the lowest percentage of residents who work at home with 0.5%.

Many workers in Dutchess County rely on jobs outside the County. The information currently available on commuter destinations (.pdf) do point to some general trends. The most apparent being that workers living in the southern portion of Dutchess County are more likely to work outside of the County. High percentages of workers from communities such as the Town and Village of Pawling (59% and 58% respectively), East Fishkill (52%), and Beekman (50%) commute to jobs outside the County.

Change in Average Commute Time

The information provided on the Comparison of 1980, 1990, and 2000 Table (.pdf) reports the average commute time for the communities in Dutchess County. The average commute time has increased over the last twenty years by 7.3 minutes. The average commute time in Dutchess County for 2000 is over 29 minutes; this is an increase of 5.3% since 1990. The longest average commute times (.pdf) were from the Towns of Pawling (38.3 minutes) and East Fishkill (38.1).  Residents in the Town of North East have an average commute time of 22.7 minutes, the shortest in the County.

Vehicles Available

The information provided on the Comparison of 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 Table (.pdf) summarizes the number of vehicles available over the last 30 years. The number of households with no vehicles available (.pdf) has decreased since 1970. The Village of Fishkill had the highest percentage of households with no vehicles available in 2000 at 27.6%.  The Town of Clinton had the fewest households with no vehicles available in 2000 with only 1.1%.