The village was incorporated in 1893. Pawling is also host to the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day parade. The annual parade is held on Broad Street in the village of Pawling at a length of 223 feet.
Geography
Pawling is located in southeastern Dutchess County at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of, all of it land.
Government
Since 1893 Pawling has had a mayor and village board.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,233 people, 919 households, and 533 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,096.4 people per square mile. There were 945 housing units at an average density of 464.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 90.77% White, 2.24% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 2.87% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.94% of the population. There were 919 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couplesliving together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.07. In the village, the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $46,484, and the median income for a family was $59,896. Males had a median income of $43,266 versus $31,466 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,512. About 5.2% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Two main thoroughfares run through Pawling, state route 22 and 55. State Route 22 runs through every town on the east side of Dutchess County, and runs parallel the business district of Pawling. Metro-North Railroad has two rail commuter rail stations in Pawling, with service to New York City via the Harlem Line, with the Pawling in the town center, and the Appalachian Trail 2 miles north of the village of Pawling. Local transit service is available on Dutchess County Public Transit's route E to Poughkeepsie.
