In 2019, the Livelihood Based Assessment (LBA) and Contingency Planning approach was applied in Jamaica to provide pre-disaster livelihood information for five of the communities being supported through community projects funded by the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF) of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Jeffery Town is one of the communities that were included in the LBA exercise. Jeffery Town is a small rural farming community situated in Southeast St. Mary. The community has six (6) districts, namely Jeffery Town Proper, Wallingford, Top Road, Coffee Walk Road, Barker and Decoy (Part of Guys Hill).

The estimated total population for Jeffery Town is 2,982 persons, occupying 637 dwellings and 877 households. The average household size was 3.4 persons. In terms of the distribution of the population by gender, females outnumbered their male counterparts, accounting for 52.4% of the overall total population. 

Jeffery Town has a youthful population. Approximately forty-three percent (42.6%) of the community’s population was 24 years or younger. Children (0-14 years) accounted for 28% of the population and youths (15-24 years) for 14.5%. The age composition of the population shows that 60.2% of the population was of working age (15-64 years). This cohort consisted of 29.8% males and 30.4% females. The elderly population (60 years and over) accounted for 16.3% of the total population and the dependent elderly age group (65 years and over) accounted for 11.8% of the total population.