St. James is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 7,443 people and just one neighborhood, St. James is the 133rd largest community in North Carolina. St. James has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in St. James, where the median household income is $113,670.00.
St. James home prices are not only among the most expensive in North Carolina, but St. James real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
St. James is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 91.21% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, St. James is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in St. James who work in management occupations (22.11%), sales jobs (12.19%), and teaching (11.75%).
Also of interest is that St. James has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Of important note, St. James is also a town of artists. St. James has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape St. James’s character.
A relatively large number of people in St. James telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 30.66% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
In addition, St. James is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.
Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, St. James is worth considering.
One of the nice things about St. James is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
In St. James, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 39.37 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.
Despite being a small town, St. James has a lot of people using a ferryboat to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on a ferryboat are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in St. James. 65.70% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in St. James in 2022 was $82,598, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $330,392 for a family of four.
The people who call St. James home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of St. James residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in St. James include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in St. James is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Scandinavian languages.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
In addition, homes built from 2000 through today make up a higher proportion of the neighborhood's real estate landscape than 96.1% of the neighborhoods in America. When you are driving around this neighborhood, you'll notice right away that it is one of the newest built of any, with the smell of fresh paint, and the look of young landscaping nearly everywhere you look. In fact, 73.1% of the residential real estate here is classified as newer.
In the neighborhood, 7.6% of people ride a ferry to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of ferry ridership than in 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
Priests and therapists would like to think they know the secrets to a truly successful marriage, but according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the folks of the neighborhood may actually hold the key. 75.4% of its residents are married, which is a higher percentage than is found in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, if you are planning to retire in North Carolina, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in North Carolina, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 97.0% of neighborhoods in NC. If a North Carolina retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 16.9% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.1% of all neighborhoods in America.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scots-Irish and French Canadian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Scots-Irish ancestry and 2.7% have French Canadian ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in St. James are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 74.3% of the neighborhoods in America. With 18.3% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 66.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 57.0% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 16.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (15.1%), and 11.3% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 93.0% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (4.5%).
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in St. James, NC, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (20.7%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (20.1%), and residents who report English roots (16.3%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.0%), along with some Scots-Irish ancestry residents (3.5%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (32.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (16.9%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (54.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (15.3%) and 7.6% of residents also ride a ferry for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.