Dutchess and Putnam Counties are located in the Mid-Hudson Valley and have a combined population of just under 400,000, with Dutchess County comprising about three-quarters. The largest cities in the area are Poughkeepsie and Beacon. While Putnam County has always been a largely residential county with little industry, Dutchess County had been a major tech manufacturing hub in the 1970s and 1980s when it was anchored by the presence of IBM. However, the Dutchess manufacturing sector has been hit particularly hard in recent decades, seeing an employment decline of roughly 75 percent since 1990, which ranks among the most substantial manufacturing declines in the country. Over the same period, employment in health and education has nearly doubled, and that sector now employs a much larger share of workers in the area than nationally. Academic institutions like Vassar, Marist, and Bard Colleges, the Culinary Institute of America, and Dutchess Community College have been strong contributors to Dutchess County’s economy. Growth in leisure and hospitality jobs has also been robust, and employment in that sector has rebounded fully from a steep drop during the pandemic.
| Dutchess-Putnam | Orange-Rockland-Westchester* | Kingston* | New York State | USA | |
| Population1 | 394,000 | 1,744,000 | 182,000 | 20,201,000 | 331,449,000 |
| Pop growth, 10-year change1 | -0.9% | 6.8% | -0.4% | 4.2% | 7.4% |
| GDP, billions1 | $19 | $125 | $8 | $1,725 | $20,894 |
| Job growth, 5-year change2 | -5.6% | -4.1% | -7.2% | -4.1% | 1.2% |
| Median household income1 | $81,900 | $82,000 | $64,100 | $72,600 | $67,000 |
| Median home price1 | $320,000 | $350,000 | $220,000 | $350,000 | $250,000 |
| Pop share age 25+ with BA+1 | 41.8% | 38.8% | 31.6% | 39.4% | 35.1% |
