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Place dossier plate
SheetNY-JAMESTOWN-NY · Jamestown, NY 28,401 pop · income 13th pct · 37 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Jamestown
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Jamestown on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Addyston · lowest
44,861
Addyston · lowest
44,861 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #1
Wattsburg · near
44,875
Wattsburg · near
44,875 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #2
Jamestown · this city
44,878
Jamestown · this city
44,878 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #3
Washington · near
44,882
Washington · near
44,882 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #4
Lawrenceville · near
44,885
Lawrenceville · near
44,885 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #5
Piney View · near
44,886
Piney View · near
44,886 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #6
Harrison · highest
153,273
Harrison · highest
153,273 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Jamestown on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 28,401.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Jamestown - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Jamestown lands in the 13th percentile for household income and the 16th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
13th
percentile, household income
3rd
percentile, home value
78th
percentile, median rent
16th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Jamestown, NY
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 28,401 residents in Jamestown, a small city within New York. The typical household in Jamestown brings in $44,878 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 16.0%. Home values in Jamestown run a median of $79,100, and the median resident age is 38.2 years. 23.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 53.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 2 residential building permits were authorized in Jamestown (Building Boom), up 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Jamestown's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2934.9 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 47.3°F with 45.9 inches of precipitation per year and 98.4 inches of snowfall.
New York carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 107.9 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,579 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts New York's average monthly utility costs around $285 (state average). Commute times here average 13.6 minutes, with 71.0% driving alone and 8.7% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 69.4 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Jamestown's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to climate and hazard context to reported crime to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households to population change to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Jamestown, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Jamestown?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 13.6 minutes.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 47.3°F, with 45.9 inches of precipitation and 98.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for New York is 69.4 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Which cities make useful reference points for Jamestown?
Within New York, the closest population matches are Saratoga Springs (28,542 residents, $100,485 income); Newburgh (28,649 residents, $51,006 income); Glen Cove (28,101 residents, $91,355 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Madison Heights, MI (28,411 residents); Lansing, IL (28,415 residents); Monroeville, PA (28,383 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What can 37 Census tracts reveal inside Jamestown?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 37 Census tracts to this city.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Jamestown?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2934.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 29% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2314.8
Violent rate
620.2
Total reported rate
2934.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Jamestown?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$44,878
Home value
$79,100
Value / income
1.8×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for Jamestown?
The NCES join finds 12 public schools within the city match. 23.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
12
Bachelor's degree+
23.2%
Poverty estimate
16.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Is Jamestown growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1,003 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-3.5%
2025 estimate
27,663
2020 estimate
28,666
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share D
23.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$44,878
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
107.9 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime F
620 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Jamestown profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 44/100 (D) · 23.2%
Poverty rate: 21/100 (F) · 16.0%
Household income: 13/100 (F) · $44,878
Cost of living: 12/100 (F) · 107.9 index
Violent crime: 9/100 (F) · 620 /100k
Where Jamestown sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Jamestown's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Jamestown highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Jamestown, NY (this city): home $79,100, crime 2,935/100k
Madison Heights, MI : home $190,300, crime 1,735/100k
Lansing, IL : home $168,500, crime 2,230/100k
Monroeville, PA : home $197,400, crime 2,540/100k
Fredericksburg, VA : home $461,500, crime 3,674/100k
Frankfort, KY : home $171,600, crime 1,846/100k
Saratoga Springs, NY : home $445,100, crime 1,902/100k
Newburgh, NY : home $221,100, crime 2,901/100k
Glen Cove, NY : home $654,500, crime 580/100k
How does Jamestown compare to other US cities?
Where Jamestown sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income13% higher than other cities
Home value3% pricier than other cities
Median rent78% pricier than other cities
Safety16% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just New York and the picture shifts: Jamestown ranks #37 of 55 New York cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Jamestown against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New York only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New York-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Jamestown near the bottom of New York's cities
Among the 1,256 New York cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Jamestown ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Jamestown only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,150 of 1,205
5th percentile in New York
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,256
0th percentile in New York
Median Home Value
#1,176 of 1,202
2nd percentile in New York
Poverty Rate
#158 of 1,246
87th percentile in New York
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#903 of 1,254
28th percentile in New York
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New York only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
13th percentile nationally for median household income · 16th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Jamestown's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Jamestown's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Jamestown's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$79,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 97% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Jamestown's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#906 of 15,516
More affordable than 94% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#26 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 1.8×, Jamestown sits in the affordable band:
national rank #906 of 15,516 and #26 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$44,878Jamestown, NY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Jamestown, NY median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Jamestown, NY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
28,401
Median Income
$44,878
Median Home Value
$79,100
Median Age
38.2
Poverty Rate
16.0%
Labor force participation
53.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2934.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
620.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2314.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
47.3°F
Annual Precipitation
45.9"
Annual Snowfall
98.4"
Schools
Total Schools
12
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Jamestown's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
28,666 residents
2021
28,461 residents
2022
28,084 residents
2023
27,952 residents
2024
27,817 residents
2025
27,663 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
1
1
0
$0.1M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.2M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
2
2
0
$0.7M
Permit volume increased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
13.6 minutes
Drive Alone
71.0%
Carpool
12.5%
Public Transit
1.4%
Walk
4.1%
Work from Home
8.7%
Other
2.3%
Based on 11,481 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New York statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $285
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New York at $285 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $65 ).
These are New York statewide averages, not a meter reading for Jamestown. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New York's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.9 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Jamestown is $1,579/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New York statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 69.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New York statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Jamestown sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Jamestown compares to similar-size New York cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.