Photo: Vasiliymeshko · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Jamestown are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
25.3% of residents live below the poverty line, against 14.0% across New York. The two grades for Jamestown are D for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in three work in Jamestown; the top destination outside it is Ellicott (16%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Jamestown
Commutes from Jamestown are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 138 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Jamestown and Ellicott trade workers both ways
Ellicott is the top workplace for Jamestown residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Jamestown come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Jamestown residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Jamestown
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jamestown is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #735 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Jamestown’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($43,523, U.S. $80,734).
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jamestown stays D.
The trip to work from Jamestown: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jamestown workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,347 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where Jamestown’s working residents head each day
Where Jamestown clocks in
16% of workers
4% 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.
Half of Jamestown commutes less than 4 miles
About 25% 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.
Jamestown on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,862 residents head out to work, 3,573 work right here, and 6,671 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 (0.98 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.
What work there is in Jamestown: 10,244 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jamestown, 2013 → 2023: 12,745 → 10,244. 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.
Jamestown is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jamestown is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #196 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Jamestown near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,378 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). 20.3% of Jamestown households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Jamestown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Jamestown next to U.S. towns of 19,000 to 37,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Mineola NY | 21,376 | $138K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,493 | Brawley CA | 28,008 | $59K | 21.3% | 15.5% | 26% | D |
| 1,494 | Columbus MS | 22,792 | $42K | 21.3% | 8.7% | 40% | D |
| 1,495 | Jamestown NY | 27,663 | $44K | 25.3% | 9.0% | 34% | D |
| 1,496 | LaGrange GA | 34,730 | $44K | 22.9% | 9.0% | 38% | D |
| 1,497 | Meridian MS | 33,370 | $37K | 34.3% | 7.9% | 56% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,509 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 New York.
The towns next door employ 24% of Jamestown
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jamestown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown | – | D | A | 15 min | $43,523 |
| Ellicott | 16% | B− | C+ | 16 min | $60,880 |
| Jamestown West | under 2% | — | — | 11 min | — |
| Kiantone | under 2% | C+ | B | 20 min | $81,000 |
| Celoron | under 2% | C− | B | 13 min | $51,964 |
| Busti | 8% | C | C | 21 min | $67,292 |
Same-state neighbors only. Jamestown West: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Ellicott. 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?
$43,523 (±$4,092) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jamestown?
25.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jamestown?
15 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jamestown work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ellicott (16%, 2 mi), Busti (8%, 6 mi), Buffalo (4%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jamestown walkable?
Jamestown is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jamestown without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 20% 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.