Wappinger is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is in the Hudson Valley region, 70 miles (110 km) north of New York City, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. The population was 27,048 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the Wappinger Indians who inhabited the area.

The Wappinger were a confederacy of Native Americans whose territory, in the 17th century, was spread along the eastern shore of the Hudson River. Primarily based in what is now Dutchess County, their territory bordered Manhattan Island to the south, the Mahican territory bounded by the Roeliff Jansen Kill to the north, and extended east into parts of Connecticut.

They spoke an eastern-Algonkian language. Culturally they were closely related to the Lenape people (Delaware Indians) to the west and south of Wappinger lands, and also related to the Mahican people to their immediate north and to the Metoac peoples of Long Island. Wappinger means "easterner" in most Algonkian languages.

The town of Wappinger, originally a part of the town of Fishkill, was formed on May 20, 1875, and lies wholly within the limits of the historic Rombout Patent, granted in 1685. Among the first settlers were the VanBenschotens of New Hackensack. The town of Wappinger was primarily agricultural, while mills lined the creek in the village of Wappingers Falls.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.5 square miles (73.9 km²), of which 27.1 square miles (70.1 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²), or 5.18%, is water. Part of the west town line is located at the Hudson River and borders Orange County.

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