Poughkeepsie , officially the City of Poughkeepsie, is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 32,736. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson Valley midway between New York City and Albany, and is part of the New York metropolitan area. The name derives from a word in the Wappinger language, roughly U-puku-ipi-sing, meaning "the reed-covered lodge by the little-water place," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River south of the present downtown area.