Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jamestown grades low on several counts. Safety is its weak spot (D): it reports more crime per resident than 91% of U.S. towns, including 186 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Incomes is weaker too (D): the median household income is $44K, and 25% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $128K, 2.2 years of the Jamestown area’s $58K median household income. Where it does best is walkability (A) — it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. All told, that adds up to a D− overall and a rank of 736th of 745 in New York. Nationally, it does better than 3% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 11 places on the National Register.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow.
Where Jamestown beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Gov. Reuben Fenton Mansion
Census counts: 3,155 in 1860, a peak of 45,155 in 1930, 28,712 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 4 maps from 1905 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Jamestown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jamestown, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Jamestown.
Jamestown gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
At 2.2 years of the Jamestown area’s $58K median household income, the typical home (about $128K) costs less against local pay than in 83% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The median property tax bill is $2,453, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Homes in Jamestown are typically worth about $128,000, up 3.1% in a year, 76% below the New York typical home. 49% of households are owner-occupiers in the town. Its midpoint rent is $759 a month, against $1,103 a month in New York’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. A home in Jamestown typically sold within 10 days of listing.
| Jamestown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $759 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 49% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Celoron highest at B−.
The Jamestown City School District runs its public schools. Below: Two of its 9 schools, each with why it was picked. The 6 public schools in Jamestown teach 2,286 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton J Fletcher Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 509 | C− |
| Jamestown High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,292 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 989 to 873 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Jamestown, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 25 per 1,000 residents.
| Jamestown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 3,504 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jamestown’s, it is healthier than 52%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in Jamestown who smoke cigarettes: 18%. Among adults in the town, 25% say their health is fair or poor, where New York’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 19%. Two figures for adults in the town: 42% sleep under 7 hours, 23% worry about having enough food.
| Jamestown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Jamestown | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.4% | 6% |
| More smokers | 18.2% | 11.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.4% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest park or preserve is Jackson-Taylor Park, at 60 acres. 3.5 miles of trail wind through 16 parks and preserves.
| Jamestown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jackson-Taylor Park | 0.1 mi | 60 |
| 2. Bergman Park | — | 49 |
| 3. Allen Park | 0.2 mi | 48 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $378 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Jamestown after 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2014. The natural-hazard score from FEMA for Jamestown comes to 69 of 100. Since 1978, Jamestown has seen 14 flood insurance claims paid out. 84% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 6%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Jamestown 4 Ene weather station records that 98 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 80° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 10,435 working residents takes 15.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The top destinations are Ellicott (16%), Busti (8%) and Buffalo (4%). Since 2013, Jamestown has lost 2,501 jobs, to 10,244 in 2023. Its mean commuting time is 15 minutes.
| Jamestown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jamestown. Close and well known come first.
9 mi LakeChautauqua Lake
22 mi DamKinzua Dam
33 mi National forestAllegheny National Forest
in town MuseumLucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center
40 mi LandmarkFort Le Boeuf
27 mi State parkAllegany State ParkChautauqua Lake: Banderas, Public domain · Kinzua Dam: Niagara, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allegheny National Forest: IvoShandor, CC BY 2.5 · Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0 · Fort Le Boeuf: Charles M. Stotz ?, Public domain · Allegany State Park: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Jamestown
About 4 of every 100 Jamestown residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
2 colleges in town.
11 places in Jamestown on the National Register of Historic Places.
51 notable people were born in Jamestown.
City in New York, United States
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest city in the county. Nearby Chautauqua Lake is a freshwater resource used by fishermen, boaters, and naturalists. In the 20th century, Jamestown was a thriving industrial area, noted for producing several well-known products. They include the crescent wrench, produced by Karl Peterson's the Crescent Tool Company in Jamestown beginning in 1907; and the automatic lever voting machine, manufactured by the Automatic Voting Machine Company, which dominated the lever…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Jamestown.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown | #736 | D− | B | D | D | D |
| Ellicott | #634 | C− | B− | C− | B− | C |
| Jamestown West | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kiantone | — | — | B− | — | C− | C− |
| Celoron | — | — | B− | — | B− | B |
| Busti | #658 | D | C− | — | B− | C+ |
Kiantone and Celoron have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Kiantone, Celoron and Busti report no FBI crime data of their own. Jamestown West isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Jamestown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jamestown grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #736 of 745 in New York. It grades D for health, D for safety and D for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
51 notable people were born here, including Lucille Ball and Nick Carter.
