What it's like to live in Jamestown
Jamestown is a small city in North Dakota with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Jamestown deals with household incomes below the national average, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, brutally cold winters, and snowy winters.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- High rent burden for renters
- Brutally cold winters
- Snowy winters — 46" per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Jamestown compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Jamestown
Based on Jamestown's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,546
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $30,920 a year
- 52% of Jamestown renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$39,960
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $19,980
- Homes cost 3.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 45% below US
$773/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $773 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $199,800. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $199,800 · 52% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
2.5% county unemployment
Unemployment in Stutsman County is 2.5%, well below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Stutsman County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 60% below US
133 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1375/100k · Jamestown Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 58% below US
11 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 10.9 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 5% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 79°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 4°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
2 hospitals
There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 4.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 33% below US
24% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 24%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
7 public schools inside the boundary
There are 7 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 12:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Bottom line
Jamestown's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin. A year of median rent ($773/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
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