Jamestown, New York

Area Profile

28,188 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Jamestown, in Chautauqua County.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 15% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity3,860th of 4,199 cities measured32
Schools3,009th of 4,162 cities measured32
Growth3,231st of 4,224 cities measured36
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate3,081st of 4,225 cities measured63
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 4,226 cities measured61
Access3,653rd of 4,226 cities measured73
Economic stability4,048th of 4,226 cities measured23
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.1% and the Opportunity signal places Jamestown in the bottom 8%.

In the public schools here, 52% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.3 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 1.5 times what its owners earn.

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
28,188
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$43,523
Bottom 14% nationally
Density
3,167/sq mi
8.9 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New York
Nearest major airport
ERI
48 mi · Erie Intl/Tom Ridge Fld
Median home value
$87,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.1% — higher than in all but 22% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.7% over the past year, to 11,086 employed residents.

Median household income of $43,523 is lower than in 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsChautauqua County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,58013th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftChautauqua County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$52,88311th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,0922024 ACS 5-Year$43,523Bottom 14%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6072024 ACS 5-Year$26,557Bottom 25%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year23.5%Bottom 17%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.3 minTop 8%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year21.3%Top 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.9%28th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,086Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 47%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,6804th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year71.4%Bottom 30%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%91st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 24%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.1%Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%56th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.93.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.1% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202445k36k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $43,523 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.3 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
51.8%
Bottom 13% in New York
Reading proficiency
52.6%
Bottom 20% in New York
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Jamestown High SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,29212.389%91%
Southwestern Elementary SchoolSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN58811.351%45%
Milton J Fletcher Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT50910.622%32%
George Washington Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4558.624%27%
Thomas Jefferson Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4198.426%26%
Abraham Lincoln Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT37710.547%47%
Southwestern Senior High SchoolSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN3769.698%92%
Carlyle C Ring Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT3739.337%42%
Persell Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT3739.127%28%
Samuel G Love Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT28910.027%22%
Clinton V Bush Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT28310.147%47%
Southwestern Middle SchoolSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN26610.648%48%

68.5% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of New York is up 52% over five years, and up 6.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,453 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.80% 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 28% above the $759 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 90% of the median household income here of $43,523.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $759 a month.

A median home at $87,700 costs 1.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $59,278, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$975
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$759
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$87,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Jamestown’s median household income of $43,523, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2+6.7%96th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2+52.3%85th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2+101.7%65th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year1.5Top 14%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year49.3%9th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3572024 ACS 5-Year14,81596th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$754Top 4%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,287Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$975Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$392024 ACS 5-Year$759Top 23%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,0892024 ACS 5-Year$87,70013th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1882024 ACS 5-Year$2,45364th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,1402024 ACS 5-Year$59,278Bottom 22%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.25%2024 ACS 5-Year2.80%99th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%Bottom 38%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1052024 ACS 5-Year15392nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%62nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.9%76th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3392024 ACS 5-Year2,21398th percentileof 32,3302024 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

36/ 100
Ranks 3,231 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 27,699 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward in 2025, after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 3 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Chautauqua County, which contains Jamestown, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $53,580, close to the $52,883 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
3
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 7% nationally
Year over year
+200%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202429k28k
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.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
57%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,580
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,883
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Erie County, NY 585 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Cattaraugus County, NY 295 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Erie County, PA 216 people · 7.6% of arrivals
  4. Warren County, PA 130 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  5. Monroe County, NY 47 people · 1.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Erie County, NY 502 people · 17% of departures
  2. Erie County, PA 229 people · 7.9% of departures
  3. Cattaraugus County, NY 209 people · 7.2% of departures
  4. Warren County, PA 96 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. Monroe County, NY 56 people · 1.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Chautauqua County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420254.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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, 27.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
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
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

61 / 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. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
692
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,571
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Jamestown's police department reported 692 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,571.

Chautauqua County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 23.2 per 100,000 residents in Chautauqua County.

Homicide
2.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
23.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Jamestown’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Jamestown (Chautauqua County) rather than Jamestown itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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 48 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.3%Bottom 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle48 miBottom 13%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%Bottom 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Erie Intl/Tom Ridge FldERI48 mi8,420 ft
Buffalo Niagara IntlBUF64 mi8,829 ft
Youngstown/Warren RgnlYNG94 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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Area Score
48
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Other cities in Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DunkirkChautauqua County12,54949Dunkirk vs Jamestown

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Jamestown side by side with a similar place.

Jamestown vs LimaJamestown vs Galesburg

Moving to Jamestown from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
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
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

ZIP codes in Jamestown

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Jamestown with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1470138,461$49,685$105,30051