Jamaica, Iowa
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Richland Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50128. The Survey maps it on the Yale quadrangle. 195 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,033 feet above sea level.
On record in Jamaica
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
- Octagon Barn, Richland Townshiplisted 1986
Population over time
2 figuresJamaica fell from 224 to 195 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 224 | |
| 2020 | 195 | -29 (-13%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS Bagley quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Yale quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Guthrie Center quadrangle1:100000
- 1993 USGS Guthrie Center quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
5 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Jamaica between 2008 and 2012, burning about 46 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 25 March 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 15 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 February 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 November 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | HWY 4 AND HWY 141, IOWA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Jamaica: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Davis Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Goodale Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
39 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Jamaica in 39 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 13 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 10 heavy rain, 4 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $150,000 | Significant tree damage in town with 50 percent of the trees damaged. Thirty trees were down, two sheds had roof damage and the county mobile EOC was tossed 150 feet into the field. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $75,000 | Three to four foot diameter trees were down with roads impassable. A travel trailer was blown approximately 150 feet. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $20,000 | Grain bin and shed damaged by straight line winds with estimated gusts near 70 MPH along Wood Road. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Jamaica | $20,000 | Water was over 140th St just east of Wood Road. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $10,000 | The emergency manager reported a large 2 foot diameter tree down in Yale and several large branches down in Jamaica. One large branch fell on a truck with minor damage. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Jamaica | $10,000 | Emergency Manager reported flooding within the town of Jamaica. |
| April 2009 | Flash Flood | Jamaica | $10,000 | Water was reported over the roads. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $10,000 | A 4 inch flag pole was bent by the wind. Power was reported out as well. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $10,000 | A power pole was partially blown over. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Jamaica | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Jamaica | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $3,000 | A large tree was snapped. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Jamaica | $3,000 | Nickel to quarter size hail occurring. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Jamaica | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Jamaica | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Jamaica | $1,000 | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Hail | Jamaica | $1,000 | no account filed |
| September 2025 | Hail | Jamaica | - | Quarter sized hail reported by former NWS employee. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Jamaica | - | Quarter sized hail and winds estimated 30 to 40 mph. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Jamaica | - | Dime to nickel sized hail. |
| April 2022 | Flash Flood | Jamaica | - | Several streets closed in Jamaica and Bagley due to surface flooding. Relayed by the Emergency Manager. |
| August 2019 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | NWS employee recorded heavy rainfall of 2.29 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Jamaica | - | NWS employee reported up to penny size hail lasting about 15 to 30 seconds. |
| June 2018 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | CoCoRaHS observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.58 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| August 2018 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | CoCoRaHS observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.01 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| August 2018 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.01 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| May 2017 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | Public reported heavy rainfall of 2.00 inches via social media. |
| October 2017 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | Trained spotter reported heavy rainfall of 3.50 inches. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Jamaica | - | Trained spotter reported quarter sized hail at his home. |
| June 2015 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | NWS employee reported 6.08 inches of rain since 7am Wednesday. |
| December 2015 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | NWS Employee reported heavy rainfall of 3.78 inches over the last 48 hours/storm total so far. |
| October 2014 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | Rainfall of 2.04 inches in the past 24 hours. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | - | Short lived miso-vortex produced crop damage south of Jamaica. Damage was found and documented using high resolution satellite imagery. |
| April 2009 | Heavy Rain | Jamaica | - | Rainfall of 4.66 inches in past 25 hours. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Jamaica | - | Hail was also accompanied by strong winds. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jamaica | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herndon | 2.1 miles | 10 | |
| Yale | 5.4 miles | 10 | |
| Bagley | 6.4 miles | 10 | |
| Fanslers | 10.2 miles | 11 | |
| Lake Panorama | 10.3 miles | 11 | |
| Panora | 11.0 miles | 11 | |
| Bayard | 13.2 miles | 9 | |
| Guthrie Center | 15.5 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Jamaica | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1913470 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 457909. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






