All towns › Hudson Valley › Dutchess County
Pawling, NY village
Population 2,070 (2024) · +4% since 2020 · graded against towns under 5,000
GEOID 3656814 · 41.564, -73.599
Ranks 57 of 80 among towns under 5,000. Strongest in access; weakest in civic capacity and building stock.
Ahead on building and people; prices not scored.
Is Pawling, NY a good place to live or invest in?
Pawling is a village in Dutchess County, in New York's Hudson Valley, with 2,070 residents in 2024, +4% since 2020. On Comeback Towns it scores 42.1 of 100 for readiness, grade D (rank 57 of 80 among towns under 5,000), and 86.7 of 100 for momentum, labelled rising. Strongest in access; weakest in civic capacity and building stock. Momentum: ahead on building and people; prices not scored. The median home was worth $378,600 (2020-2024, 96% of the metro median), and it is 1 h 40 min by road from New York City, 0.1 mi from the nearest Amtrak or Metro-North station.
Written from the figures below, not by hand. Comeback Towns sells nothing and takes no listings; a grade ranks a town against others of its size, and a momentum label is direction, not a forecast. None of it is financial, investment or relocation advice, and none of it measures crime or safety: check the cited source before acting on a figure. How the scores work · what this site is not.
Key facts, each with its period and source
- Median home value
- $378,600
- Metro median home value
- $393,600
- Median gross rent
- $1,416
- Median household income
- $86,792
- Homes built before 1940
- 31.1%
- National Register historic districts
- 0
- Drive to New York City
- 1 h 40 min
- Drive to the nearest regional hub
- 39 min
- Nearest Amtrak or Metro-North station
- 0.1 mi
- Drive to the nearest hospital
- 29 min
- Households with a wired broadband subscription
- 77.2%
- Residents under 18
- 19%
- Storefront businesses mapped
- 20
- Businesses per 1,000 residents
- 9.7 per 1,000
- Housing units permitted
- 36
- Permits per 1,000 residents, 3-year mean
- 9.5 per 1,000
- Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward awards
- 0
- County net migration of tax filers, per 1,000
- -1.3 per 1,000
Readiness: six factors
mean of usable inputs · weighted sum · every curveAccess 25% 82 NYC 1 h 40 min · hub 39 min · rail 0.1 mi
How easy it is to reach the city, a regional hub and a train.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive to New York City drive_min_nyc: lower is better; scores 1 at 60 min or less, falling in a straight line to 0 at 240 min. | 1 h 40 min | 0.78 | 6.5 | 2026-09 · osrm |
| Drive to nearest regional hub drive_min_regional_hub: lower is better; scores 1 at 15 min or less, falling in a straight line to 0 at 90 min. | 39 min | 0.68 | 5.7 | 2026-09 · osrm |
| Nearest rail station miles_to_rail_station: lower is better; scores 1 at 2 mi or less, falling in a straight line to 0 at 30 mi. | 0.1 mi | 1.00 | 8.3 | 2026 · rail |
Building stock 15% 21 pre-1940 31.1% · historic district: no
Whether there is a pre-war fabric worth restoring.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1940 pre1940_share: higher is better; scores 1 at 0.6 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0.1. | 31.1% | 0.42 | 3.2 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Historic district present has_nrhp_district: 1 when a National Register historic district lies within the place, otherwise 0. | No | 0.00 | 0.0 | 2026 · nrhp |
Main street 15% 43 businesses 9.7 per 1,000
How much storefront activity already exists per resident.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses per 1,000 residents osm_business_per_1k: higher is better; scores 1 at 20 per 1,000 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 2 per 1,000. | 9.7 per 1,000 | 0.43 | 6.4 | 2026-10 · osm |
Price headroom 15% 40 price 96% of metro
Whether prices leave room to rise without having already been found.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value median_home_value divided by metro_median_home_value. price ratio to the metro median: cheapest is not best: a town priced well below its metro has headroom, one priced far below it has no demand yet, and one at or above it has already been found; scores 1 at 0.6, and 0 at or below 0.25 and at or above 1.2, with straight lines between. | $378,600 | 0.40 | 6.0 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Metro median home value | $393,600 | benchmark | — | 2020-2024 · acs |
Services 15% 41 broadband 77.2% · under 18 19% · hospital within 20 min: no
Broadband, the share of residents under 18, and a hospital within reach.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband subscription broadband_subscription_share: higher is better; scores 1 at 0.9 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0.5. | 77.2% | 0.68 | 3.4 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Share under 18 under_18_share: higher is better; scores 1 at 0.25 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0.12. | 19% | 0.54 | 2.7 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Hospital within 20 minutes hospital_within_20min: 1 when a hospital is within a 20-minute drive, otherwise 0. | No | 0.00 | 0.0 | 2026-09 · osrm |
Civic capacity 15% 0 no state award
Whether the state has backed the downtown with a revitalization award.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latest downtown award dri_award_amount: higher is better; scores 1 at 1e+07 USD or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0 USD. | $0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 2016-2025 · dri |
| Latest award year dri_award_year: 1 when the award is at most 3 years old, fading in a straight line to 0.3 at 10 years and staying there. | not applicable | — | — |
Momentum: against a benchmark
v2 · howPrices 35% n/a no usable inputs
Whether home values rose faster over the past year than in the typical New York place.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home value change, one year zhvi_change_1y minus zhvi_change_1y_ny_median. one-year home value change against the typical New York place: higher is better; scores 1 at 5 percentage points or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at -5 percentage points. | not available | — | — | |
| Typical NY place home value change | not available | benchmark | — |
Building 25% 100 permit rate +2.1 per 1,000
Whether more homes are being permitted than two years ago, per resident.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in permit rate permit_rate_change: higher is better; scores 1 at 2 units per 1,000 residents a year or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at -2 units per 1,000 residents a year. | +2.1 per 1,000 | 1.00 | 25.0 | 2021-2023 to 2023-2025 · permits |
People 40% 78 population +4% vs NY -1% · county filers -1.3 per 1,000 vs NY -1.9 per 1,000
Whether the population has held up better since 2020 than in the typical New York place, and whether the county gains tax filers faster than the typical New York county.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population change since 2020 population_change minus population_change_ny_median. population change since 2020 against the typical New York place: higher is better; scores 1 at 3 percentage points or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at -3 percentage points. | +4% | 1.00 | 20.0 | 2020-2024 · popest |
| Typical NY place population change | -1% | benchmark | — | 2020-2024 · popest |
| County net migration of tax filers county_net_migration_rate minus county_net_migration_rate_ny_median. county net migration of tax filers against the typical New York county: higher is better; scores 1 at 5 per 1,000 filers or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at -5 per 1,000 filers. | -1.3 per 1,000 | 0.57 | 11.3 | 2022-2023 · irs |
| Typical NY county net migration | -1.9 per 1,000 | benchmark | — | 2022-2023 · irs |
NOTEMomentum is renormalised over the factors that have data, so this score rests on fewer than all of them. Coverage is shown wherever the score is.
More figures
Peers: Hudson Valley towns under 5,000
Compare with the two nearest →| # | Town | Pop. | Grade | Readiness | Momentum | Home value | To NYC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highland Falls Orange | 3,648 | A | 69.1 | ▼ FADING 22 | $353,900 | 1 h 13 min |
| 2 | Montgomery Orange | 3,781 | A | 66.6 | ▼ FADING 37 | $361,300 | 1 h 39 min |
| 3 | Tivoli Dutchess | 1,019 | A | 65.8 | ▶ STEADY 46 | $354,300 | 2 h 31 min |
| 4 | Fishkill Dutchess | 2,146 | A | 63.8 | NO LABEL · 2 OF 4 | $311,000 | 1 h 41 min |
| 5 | Cold Spring Putnam | 1,995 | B | 61.3 | ▶ STEADY 49 | $600,100 | 1 h 25 min |
| 24 | Pawling Dutchess · this town | 2,070 | D | 42.1 | ▲ RISING 87 | $378,600 | 1 h 40 min |
Other places in Dutchess County
Poughkeepsie, NYBeacon, NYWappingers Falls, NYRhinebeck, NYFishkill, NYRed Hook, NYMillbrook, NYTivoli, NY
All of Dutchess County: towns ranked by readiness · all Hudson Valley towns.
Sources for this page
the key is the exact snapshot in our archive| Source | Period | Pulled | Figures | Snapshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Homes built before 1940 | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25034_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Metro median home value | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25077_cbsa.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Median home value | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25077_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Broadband subscription | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B28002_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Share under 18 | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B09001_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Median gross rent | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25064_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Median household income | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B19013_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Vacant housing share | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25002_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Poverty rate | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B17001_place.json |
| Building Permits Survey, place-level annual (Northeast region) | 2021-2023 to 2023-2025 | 2026-09-18 | Change in permit rate, Housing units permitted, Units permitted per 1,000 residents | raw/permits/2026-09-18/ne2025a.txt |
| Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward awards | 2016-2025 | 2026-09-18 | Latest downtown award, State downtown awards | raw/dri/2026-09-18/manifest.json |
| National Register of Historic Places, spatial data | 2026 | 2026-09-18 | Historic district present, Historic districts | raw/nrhp/2026-09-18/ny_districts_polygons.json |
| OpenStreetMap via Overpass API | 2026-10 | 2026-10-05 | Businesses per 1,000 residents, Main street businesses | raw/osm/2026-10-05/3656814.json |
| OSRM routing (public demo server) | 2026-09 | 2026-09-18 | Drive to New York City, Drive to nearest regional hub, Hospital within 20 minutes, Drive to nearest hospital | raw/osrm/2026-09-18/3656814.json |
| Population Estimates, sub-county (cities and towns) | 2020-2024 | 2026-10-05 | Typical NY place population change, Population change since 2020 | raw/popest/2026-10-05/sub-est2024.csv |
| Rail stations (Amtrak and Metro-North) | 2026 | 2026-09-18 | Nearest rail station | raw/rail/2026-09-18/gtfsmnr.zip |
| SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration data | 2022-2023 | 2026-09-19 | Typical NY county net migration, County net migration of tax filers, County tax-filer inflow | raw/irs/2026-09-19/countyinflow2223.csv |
| SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration data | 2022-2023 | 2026-09-19 | County tax-filer outflow | raw/irs/2026-09-19/countyoutflow2223.csv |
Readiness computed 2026-10-05 with methodology v1; momentum computed 2026-10-05 with momentum methodology v2. Something wrong? Send a correction.