The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Beacon, NY
Beacon is a city of 18,700 in Dutchess County, about 14 miles south of downtown Poughkeepsie · Updated November 2026
Is Beacon, NY safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Beacon: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 64% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 892 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Beacon as a whole, and 36% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Beacon scores 892.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Beacon, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Beacon, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Beacon
Thefts are uncommon. Beacon has thefts at less than half the US rate: 5.7 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Beacon
Every part of Beacon where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Beacon run from A+ to A-; 82% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Beacon, the northeast side has the least crime and the west side the most.
Is crime going up in Beacon?
Reported property crime in Beacon has fallen 39% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 11 to 6.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 23%.
Property crime, change since 2019
BeaconUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Beacon. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Beacon
Property, US
2016
+68%
+15%
2017
+66%
+12%
2018
+28%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-20%
-8%
2021
-26%
-10%
2022
-15%
-6%
2023
-21%
-7%
2024
-39%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Beacon
CrimeGrade™ estimates Beacon has about 15 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 59% less than the US as a whole and 62% less than New York.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Beacon, about 38% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Beacon
Beacon has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Other places (62%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Beacon compares with nearby cities
Beacon has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities. Nelsonville and Cornwall have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Beacon apart: it has 2.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (36 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 59% of residents in Beacon live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 90% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault.C (36 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.30 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 70% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 67% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.90% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 61% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Beacon on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Beacon
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Beacon about $416 a year per household, 65% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $10 million a year, or $551 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$720,000
$39
Rape
$150,000
$8
Robbery
$150,000
$8
Assault
$1.0 million
$55
Burglary
$97,000
$5
Theft
$550,000
$29
Vehicle theft
$140,000
$7
Arson
$13,000
$1
Vandalism
$350,000
$19
Total
$3.2 million
$171
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Beacon means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Beacon is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Beacon, NY average a SchoolGrade of B+: 63% of students test proficient, against 64% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Beacon on SchoolGrade
