Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety75#3,862/15,637
Economy25#11,656/15,631
Housing68#4,780/14,977
Health55#6,995/15,609
Healthcare93#1,081/15,650
Environment100#46/15,453
Education88#1,887/15,649
Infrastructure42#9,030/15,650
Community85#2,414/15,651
Leisure & amenities73#4,162/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Jamestown, North Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Stutsman County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Students per teacher · low9.0×
100/100North Dakota 11.6×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsStutsman County value
Average commute time · low10.9 min
100/100North Dakota 17.9 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Preventable hospital stays · low1,230 /100k
99/100North Dakota 3,048 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStutsman County value
Loneliness · low30.6%
99/100North Dakota 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100North Dakota 55.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStutsman County value
High school diploma or higher · high92.0%
94/100North Dakota 94.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.507
7/100North Dakota 0.457United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
New business applications · low8.5 /1k
10/100North Dakota 11.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauStutsman County value
Grocery stores · low0.9 /10k
11/100North Dakota 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStutsman County value
Distance to an airport · high91 mi
13/100North Dakota 136 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauStutsman County value
Broadband subscriptions · low85.6%
14/100North Dakota 88.7%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Job growth · low-1.9%
14/100North Dakota -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataStutsman County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.1% (2015-2019) → 54.2% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
2.8 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−82%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
23.4% (2015-2019) → 7.5% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.5% (2015-2019) → 85.6% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.6% (2015-2019) → 31.5% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.8× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Jamestown, North Dakota improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Child poverty−16 points23.4% → 7.5%
Broadband+8.1 points77.5% → 85.6%

Declined3

Rent burden+17 points37.1% → 54.2%
Rent / income+6.9 points24.6% → 31.5%
Price / income+0.7×2.8× → 3.5×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Jamestown, North Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.0 min2015-2019	10.9 min2020-2024	−2.1 min	Within the margin of error	72%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.0%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	77.5%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Improved	50%
Child poverty rate	23.4%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	1.35%2015-2019	1.29%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
High school diploma or higher	90.1%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4472015-2019	0.5082020-2024	+0.061	Within the margin of error	13%
Median household income	$51,7892015-2019	$56,5542020-2024	+9.2%	Within the margin of error	16%
Poverty rate	14.7%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Rent as share of income	24.6%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Declined	15%
Rent-burdened households	37.1%2015-2019	54.2%2020-2024	+17 points	Declined	12%
Unemployment rate	3.2%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.6%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Jamestown, North Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Jamestown, North Dakota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Jamestown, North Dakota itself moved −15.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

15,787 residents (±54)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 men (+2.6 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

15,787 residents (±54)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

White88%13,898
Black3.1%487
Hispanic or Latino4.1%653

Education

11,148 residents (±191)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

No high school diploma8.0%888
High school or GED38%4,240
Some college19%2,064

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,123 households (±213)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $25k26%1,840
$25k–50k20%1,397
$50k–75k16%1,137
$75k–100k11%815
$100k–150k17%1,220
$150k–200k5.1%†364
$200k or more4.9%†350

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+5.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,123 households (±213)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Own55%3,889
Rent45%3,234

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

3,176 households (±317)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $75046%1,466
$750–1,00024%773
$1,000–1,50018%572

Home values

3,889 homes (±297)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $150k32%1,253
$150k–250k36%1,408
$250k–400k24%914

Age of homes

7,704 homes (±148)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

2010 or later9.0%691
2000–20098.5%658
1980–199918%1,354

Size of homes

7,704 homes (±148)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Studio3.8%†295
1 bedroom14%1,077
2 bedrooms37%2,883

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

7,398 workers (±380)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Drive alone83%6,143
Carpool7.0%†517
Public transit0.1%†4
Walk4.0%†298
Bike0.0%†2
Work from home5.0%†370
Other0.9%†64

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+3.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

7,028 workers (±408)

Jamestown, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under 15 min81%5,705
15–29 min12%816
30–44 min3.5%†248

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Jamestown, ND

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Stutsman County, the county holding most of Jamestown's residents.

Stutsman County has 636 employer establishments, 296 for every 10,000 residents (1.19× the US rate of 248; 0.92× North Dakota's), with 8,574 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,386. The Census Bureau also counts 1,545 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 636; 1,545 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 296; US 248 · North Dakota 323
Paid employees: 8,574
Average annual pay: $52,386; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Stutsman County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	41	19.1	1.23×About typical	247	$66,085	100
Restaurants and other eating places	37	17.2	0.94×About typical	583	$21,497	4
Ambulatory health care services	33	15.3	0.74×Fewer than typical	373	$70,689	63
Truck transportation	25	11.6	2.30×More than typical	210	$68,138	76
Construction of buildings	19	8.8	1.17×About typical	64	$69,703	42
Insurance agencies and brokerages	19	8.8	2.01×More than typical	68	$84,544	32
Religious organizations	19	8.8	1.59×More than typical	151	$20,603	—
Full-service restaurants	18	8.4	1.09×About typical	260	$21,312	—
Lessors of real estate	18	8.4	0.68×Fewer than typical	41	$40,780	193
Automotive repair and maintenance	16	7.4	1.48×More than typical	74	$52,014	24
Offices of other health practitioners	16	7.4	1.22×About typical	89	$53,809	35
Building equipment contractors	15	7	1.16×About typical	124	$71,089	16

Rank places for an industry Open Stutsman County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 21,512 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $582.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Jamestown, North Dakota: $36.89 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $582.3K; −61% vs FY2025
Per resident: $36.89; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.6%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Agricultural Marketing Service$462.3K79%
Department of the Army$49.4K8.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs$21.1K3.6%
Bureau of Reclamation$20.7K3.6%
U.S. Geological Survey$17.7K3.0%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$6,0681.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$2,9510.5%
Department of Energy$2,0840.4%

Top recipients

LEGUME MATRIX LLC$387.4K67%
BARNARD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INCORPORATED$79.5K14%
LUNA ENTERPRISES INTERNATIONAL INC$74.9K13%
SMITH-ROOT INC$20.7K3.6%
SISTERS OF MARY OF THE PRESENTATION LONG TERM CARE$14.2K2.4%

Spending by fiscal year

291.4KFY2017
202.9KFY2018
254.7KFY2019
438.3KFY2020
233.6KFY2021
4.2MFY2022
880.9KFY2023
1.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other food manufacturing · 3119$462.3K79%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$79.5K14%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$21.2K3.6%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$21.1K3.6%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$7,8601.3%
Other wood product manufacturing · 3219

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Jamestown, North Dakota

DK ARROWWOOD FISH BARRIER (2025-2029)$32.7K
SMITH-ROOT INC· Stutsman County, ND· Professional services· Jan 16, 2025 – Aug 27, 2026· 140R6025P0006

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Jamestown, North Dakota, so they do not add up across cities.

Jamestown, North Dakota's figures are part of those of Stutsman County, ND ($18.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Jamestown is mostly in Stutsman County.

See federal money in Stutsman County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Jamestown, North Dakota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Julie FedorchakR-ND · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 2.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Stutsman County95100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jamestown, ND85

Other cities and towns in Stutsman County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3840580

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends