Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY

Micro Area Profile

125,544 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY micropolitan area.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 25% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity624th of 835 metro and micro areas measured38
Schools427th of 695 metro and micro areas measured42
Growth739th of 834 metro and micro areas measured25
Housing affordability434th of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
Climate509th of 835 metro and micro areas measured63
Physical resilienceTop 42% of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
Access430th of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
Economic stability680th of 835 metro and micro areas measured25
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.6% and the Opportunity signal places Jamestown-Dunkirk in the bottom 25%.

In the public schools here, 57% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 9.3 students for every teacher.

130 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
125,544
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,351
Bottom 22% nationally
Density
118/sq mi
1,060.4 sq mi of land
Median age
42.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
New York
Nearest major airport
ERI
42 mi · Erie Intl/Tom Ridge Fld
Median home value
$127,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 34% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.7% over the past year, to 51,002 employed residents.

Median household income of $58,351 is lower than in 78% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,7362024 ACS 5-Year$58,351Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8002024 ACS 5-Year$32,691Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year16.2%Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.8 minTop 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year25.1%Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.3%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202651,002Top 43%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.1%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 49%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202653,43557th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year72.1%Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%69th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 27%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 34%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%42nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.43.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

57% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 9.3 students for every full-time teacher across 50 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
50
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
9.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
56.7%
Bottom 22% in New York
Reading proficiency
52.6%
Bottom 35% in New York
The 12 largest of 50 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Jamestown High SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,29212.389%91%
Dunkirk Senior High SchoolDUNKIRK CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT8829.892%87%
Falconer Middle/high SchoolFALCONER CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT61610.657%51%
Southwestern Elementary SchoolSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN58811.351%45%
Dunkirk Intermediate SchoolDUNKIRK CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT5758.725%24%
Milton J Fletcher Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT50910.622%32%
Fredonia High SchoolFREDONIA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT46110.098%98%
George Washington Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4558.624%27%
Fredonia Middle SchoolFREDONIA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT4539.253%41%
Fredonia Elementary SchoolFREDONIA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT4329.857%47%
Silver Creek Elementary SchoolSILVER CREEK CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT4288.446%34%
Thomas Jefferson Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4198.426%26%

57.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,901 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.27% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $975, some 20% above the $812 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $975 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $39,000 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $58,351.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $812 a month.

A median home at $127,900 costs 1.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,524, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$975
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$812
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$127,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Jamestown-Dunkirk’s median household income of $58,351, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.7Top 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year68.9%43rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2572024 ACS 5-Year66,47668th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$754Top 17%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,287Top 27%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$975Top 27%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$212024 ACS 5-Year$812Top 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,4632024 ACS 5-Year$127,9008th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$752024 ACS 5-Year$2,90176th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,7222024 ACS 5-Year$74,524Bottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year2.27%98th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.7%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4522024 ACS 5-Year6,80087th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%86th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%68th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7892024 ACS 5-Year13,08379th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

25/ 100
Ranks 739 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 3% since 2020, to 124,105 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 130 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
130
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 19% nationally
Year over year
−4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024127k124k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DUNKIRK CHAUTAUQUA AP, 14.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

62 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 83% of it. Tornado and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingElevated
Strong windModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, tornado, winter weather, hurricane, cold wave, ice storm, landslide, earthquake, wildfire, hail, coastal flooding, avalanche, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Erie Intl/Tom Ridge Fld at 42 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year88.5%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle42 miBottom 48%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%Top 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Erie Intl/Tom Ridge FldERI42 mi8,420 ft
Buffalo Niagara IntlBUF56 mi8,829 ft
Youngstown/Warren RgnlYNG97 mi9,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.