Photo: Swampyank at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0Jamestown’s household incomes are higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Jamestown are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line, where Rhode Island as a whole has 11.2%. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.2 in Providence.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Jamestown in brief
Jamestown’s workforce skews older
41% of Jamestown’s working residents are 55 or older. That’s about two in five. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Jamestown
21% of Jamestown workers work from home, against 13% across Rhode Island. 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Jamestown
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jamestown is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #13 of 38 in Rhode Island. Household income holds Jamestown’s grade up ($140,625, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jamestown could be anywhere from B to A+.
In Jamestown, services account for most jobs
1,206 jobs are based in Jamestown.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jamestown, 2013 → 2023: 1,023 → 1,206. 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Jamestown
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jamestown workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,082 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Rhode Island: 83% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily flow of workers through Jamestown
On a workday 1,731 residents head out to work, 339 work right here, and 867 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Jamestown on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Providence
Where Jamestown clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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 commute from Jamestown, by distance
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 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, #8 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 2,623 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 69% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.0% of Jamestown households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jamestown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Jamestown is 691st among 3,612 U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 352 | Foster RI | 4,628 | $114K | 4.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 689 | Clinton NY | 4,082 | $126K | 5.8% | 2.0% | 6% | A− |
| 690 | East Allen Township PA | 5,472 | $98K | 5.8% | 3.4% | 3% | A− |
| 691 | Jamestown RI | 5,480 | $141K | 3.5% | 4.9% | 16% | A− |
| 692 | Buckingham FL | 4,311 | $113K | 8.7% | 1.9% | 3% | A− |
| 693 | West Slope OR | 6,582 | $105K | 8.6% | 3.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 744 | Exeter RI | 6,540 | $111K | 12.8% | 1.0% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 926 | West Greenwich RI | 6,750 | $136K | 2.3% | 7.4% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Rhode Island.
23% of Jamestown works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Newport (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jamestown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown | – | A− | A | 26 min | $140,625 |
| Newport | 10% | C+ | A+ | 19 min | $86,313 |
| North Kingstown | 6% | A | B+ | 26 min | $126,293 |
| Narragansett | 2% | A− | A− | 28 min | $95,721 |
| Portsmouth | under 3% | A | B+ | 23 min | $117,467 |
| Melville | under 3% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Middletown | 5% | B | A | 20 min | $101,948 |
Same-state neighbors only. Melville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. 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?
$140,625 (±$42,154) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jamestown?
3.5%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jamestown?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jamestown work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (12%, 21 mi), Newport (10%, 3 mi), Warwick (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jamestown walkable?
Jamestown is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jamestown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.