Jamestown, New York

Area Profile

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

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 14% of 2,944 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity3773rd of 3,904 cities measured25
Schools1750th of 2,668 cities measured40
Growth2499th of 2,973 cities measured29
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 4,223 cities measured93
Climate3082nd of 4,223 cities measured63
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 4,182 cities measured61
Access3611th of 4,226 cities measured73
Economic stability4005th of 4,226 cities measured28
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 5.2% and the Opportunity signal places Jamestown in the bottom 3%.

In the public schools here, 33% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.3 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 21% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.0 times that income.

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
Chautauqua County
New York
Metro area
Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY
Nearest major airport
ERI
48 mi · Erie Intl/Tom Ridge Fld
Median home value
$87,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.2% is lower than 19% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.6% over the past year, to 11,228 employed residents.

Median household income of $43,523 is below 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,092$43,523Bottom 14%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,607$26,557Bottom 25%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate25.3%Top 15%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute16.3 minBottom 8%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher21.3%Top 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment11,228Bottom 5%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.1%Bottom 19%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.6%Bottom 29%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force11,842Bottom 5%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation56.9%Bottom 38%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)1.3%Top 1%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate5.2%Top 19%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.03.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.2% in June 2026. 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.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

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

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
32.6%
Bottom 28% in New York
Reading proficiency
44.4%
Bottom 21% in New York
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
JAMESTOWN HIGH SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,29212.3
SOUTHWESTERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN58811.346%53%
MILTON J FLETCHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT50910.625%42%
GEORGE WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4558.614%27%
THOMAS JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4198.424%42%
ABRAHAM LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT37710.555%50%
SOUTHWESTERN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN3769.6
CARLYLE C RING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT3739.330%45%
PERSELL MIDDLE SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT3739.127%40%
SAMUEL G LOVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT28910.030%49%
CLINTON V BUSH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJAMESTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT28310.145%45%
SOUTHWESTERN MIDDLE SCHOOLSOUTHWESTERN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AT JAMESTOWN26610.632%57%

68.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $759 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.0 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
20.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$759
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$87,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income2.02Bottom 24%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate49.3%Bottom 9%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±35714,815Top 4%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$39$759Bottom 23%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,089$87,700Bottom 13%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.9%Top 35%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate14.9%Top 34%of 32,0012024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
29/ 100
Ranks 2499 of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2022 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, reaching 27,699 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

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 9% 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.
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 index51.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation33.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10012024 calendar year
Median air quality index36.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing44°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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

61 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and heat wave.

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.

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
688
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,571
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

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

Jamestown's police department reported 688 violent offences per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,571.

Chautauqua County records 2.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.8 per 100,000 residents in Chautauqua County.

Homicide
2.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
20.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
16.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Offences are reported to the FBI by Jamestown’s own police department, for the population it serves, and are shown only where it reported every month of the year — a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime counts what was reported to and recorded by police, which is not the same as what happened, and a place that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate. Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Chautauqua County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Jamestown rather than Jamestown itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 48 miles away.

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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Other cities in Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DunkirkChautauqua County12,54948vs 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 GalesburgJamestown vs MacombJamestown vs Chillicothe

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
safetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar yearAnnually, with monthly revisions
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

ZIP codes in Jamestown

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
1470138,461$49,68552