Jamestown, North Dakota

Area Profile

15,787 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Jamestown, in Stutsman County.

59out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 49% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 42% of 4,199 cities measured60
GrowthTop 47% of 4,224 cities measured51
Housing affordabilityTop 41% of 4,218 cities measured70
Climate4,211th of 4,225 cities measured46
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured73
Access4,154th of 4,226 cities measured40
Economic stability3,262nd of 4,226 cities measured41
The quick read

Unemployment is 2.0% and median household income $56,554, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Stutsman County, ND, which contains Jamestown, rather than for Jamestown alone.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

A typical July reaches 81°F and a typical January falls to 1°F, on thirty-year normals.

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
15,787
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,554
Bottom 34% nationally
Density
1,187/sq mi
13.3 sq mi of land
Median age
40.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Dakota
Micro area
Nearest major airport
FAR
89 mi · Hector Intl
Median home value
$199,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Stutsman County, ND, which contains Jamestown, is 2.0%, lower than in 99% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Stutsman County, ND, which contains Jamestown, fell 1.7% over the past year, to 11,120 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsStutsman County, ND’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,2147th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftStutsman County, ND’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,18619th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,8792024 ACS 5-Year$56,554Bottom 34%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,4852024 ACS 5-Year$37,433Top 39%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%Bottom 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year12.5 minTop 3%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.0%Top 42%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year83.0%70th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentStutsman County, ND’s figureJuly 202611,120Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Stutsman County, ND’s figureJuly 20260.0%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Stutsman County, ND’s figureJuly 2026−1.7%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceStutsman County, ND’s figureJuly 202611,3424th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.1%Bottom 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Stutsman County, ND’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateStutsman County, ND’s figureJuly 20262.0%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%37th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202457k49k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,554 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Stutsman County, ND, which contains this city.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 9.9 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
9.9
across 5 of them
Math proficiency
52.2%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
59.1%
2018-19 school year
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Jamestown High SchoolJAMESTOWN 172213.142%67%
Jamestown Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN 14669.953%58%
William S Gussner Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 1239—67%62%
Roosevelt Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 12166.857%42%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 1179—62%57%
Louis L'amour Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 11138.165%65%
Washington Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 1976.545%35%

32.6% 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 North Dakota’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 North Dakota is up 39% over five years, and up 4.6% 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 $2,587 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.29% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $873, some 13% above the $773 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $873 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $34,900 a year, about 62% of the median household income here of $56,554.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $773 a month.

A median home at $199,800 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,813, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
31.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$873
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$773
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$199,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Jamestown’s median household income of $56,554, 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 North Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+4.6%74th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of North Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+38.8%37th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of North Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+56.3%5th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 44%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year54.6%13th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1482024 ACS 5-Year7,70492nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$680Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,214Top 3%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$873Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$532024 ACS 5-Year$773Top 25%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,4322024 ACS 5-Year$199,80053rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1732024 ACS 5-Year$2,58767th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,9862024 ACS 5-Year$86,813Top 40%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.15%2024 ACS 5-Year1.29%69th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.5%Bottom 34%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±312024 ACS 5-Year3076th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%51st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2102024 ACS 5-Year58191st 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

51/ 100
Top 47% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 15,789 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 9 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 Stutsman County, which contains Jamestown, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $49,214, below the $57,186 of households that moved out.

At 0.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
9
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.6
Bottom 17% nationally
Year over year
+200%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k16k
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 holding roughly steady, 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
52%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,214
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,186
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cass County, ND 67 people · 8.7% of arrivals
  2. Barnes County, ND 56 people · 7.3% of arrivals
  3. Burleigh County, ND 36 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cass County, ND 90 people · 11% of departures
  2. Burleigh County, ND 63 people · 8.0% of departures
  3. Barnes County, ND 44 people · 5.6% 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 Stutsman County, ND. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420255.03.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+25%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 1°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 19.8 inches.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JAMESTOWN MUNI AP, 1.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals19.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals1°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals60°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and hail, with cold wave alone responsible for 42% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Winter weatherElevated
HailElevated
Cold waveElevated
Ice stormElevated
Strong windHigh
TornadoHigh

Low or minimal exposure: wildfire, landslide, drought, inland flooding, heat wave, earthquake, lightning, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, 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
133
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,375
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 133 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,375.

Stutsman County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 12.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 10.9 per 100,000 residents in Stutsman County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
10.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 (Stutsman 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.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Hector Intl at 89 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year85.6%Bottom 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle89 miBottom 2%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%Bottom 26%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hector IntlFAR89 mi9,001 ft
Joe Foss FldFSD248 mi9,000 ft
Rapid City RgnlRAP289 mi8,701 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
59
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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
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April 2025 to March 2026; March 2025 to February 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
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. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Jamestown closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5840117,189$60,228$215,800—