Photo: Richie Diesterheft from Santa Barbara, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Jamestown are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 14.7% of residents, where North Dakota as a whole has 10.8%. For jobs and income Jamestown is better than 21% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (A−). More than half stay in Jamestown for work; outside it, Fargo is the main destination (8%, 88 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Jamestown, in brief
Most jobs in Jamestown go to people who live here
Of the 7,561 jobs based in Jamestown, 54% are held by Jamestown residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Jamestown’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Jamestown is Fargo, 88 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (559) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Jamestown are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 18 across North Dakota. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Dakota worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Jamestown’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Jamestown’s grade up (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($56,554, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jamestown could be anywhere from D to C+.
Jamestown on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,100 residents head out to work, 4,063 work right here, and 3,498 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far Jamestown goes to work
About 29% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting to work from Jamestown takes about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jamestown workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,028 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across North Dakota: 85% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Out of Jamestown to work: where people go
Where Jamestown clocks in
8% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The 7,561 jobs based in Jamestown
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jamestown, 2013 → 2023: 8,143 → 7,561. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Jamestown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Jamestown, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,398 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.1% of Jamestown households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Jamestown’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Jamestown ranks: 1,829th of 2,109 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,827 | Phelan CA | 18,496 | $80K | 12.7% | 12.9% | 8% | C− |
| 1,828 | Grand Rapids MN | 11,181 | $61K | 15.5% | 5.3% | 50% | C− |
| 1,829 | Jamestown ND | 15,688 | $57K | 14.7% | 4.9% | 57% | C− |
| 1,830 | Waianae HI | 12,918 | $82K | 16.2% | 8.8% | 6% | C− |
| 1,831 | Berea SC | 16,862 | $50K | 22.9% | 6.7% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Jamestown, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
Jamestown and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Woodbury Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jamestown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown | – | C− | A− | 11 min | $56,554 |
| Bloom Township | under 1% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Woodbury Township | 1% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Midway Township | 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Homer Township | under 1% | — | — | 13 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bloom Township, Woodbury Township, Midway Township and Homer Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Jamestown’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Jamestown: questions
What is the median household income in Jamestown?
$56,554 (±$3,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jamestown?
14.7%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jamestown?
11 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jamestown work?
57% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fargo (8%, 88 mi), Bismarck (5%, 98 mi), Fried Township (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jamestown walkable?
Jamestown is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jamestown without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jamestown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jamestown
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.