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 7,315 people and just one neighborhood, St. James is the 133rd largest community in North Carolina. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in St. James, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to St. James, and putting down their money on brand new construction. St. James’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. St. James does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because the median household income is $116,383.00.
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 94.49% 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 (18.88%), sales jobs (16.68%), and computer science and math (14.54%).
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.
A relatively large number of people in St. James telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 39.70% 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". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, St. James has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes St. James a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.
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.
One downside of living in St. James is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In St. James, the average commute to work is 38.39 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.
Even though St. James is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly a ferryboat for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.
If knowledge is power, St. James is a pretty powerful place. 68.33% of the adults in St. James have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in St. James in 2022 was $82,804, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $331,216 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 Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in St. James include Irish, German, 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.
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. 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 96.0% 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, 74.5% of the residential real estate here is classified as newer.
In the neighborhood, 8.4% 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.
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. 20.0% 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 99.6% of all 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. 74.8% of its residents are married, which is a higher percentage than is found in 99.0% 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 96.0% of neighborhoods in NC. If a North Carolina retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more French Canadian and Irish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.1% of this neighborhood's residents have French Canadian ancestry and 21.5% have Irish 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 71.3% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 8.2% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 54.1% of America'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, 54.6% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 18.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (14.4%), and 12.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 92.7% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (3.9%).
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 Irish (21.5%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (19.8%), and residents who report English roots (15.3%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (9.0%), along with some French Canadian ancestry residents (3.1%), 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 (38.6% 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 (20.0%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (53.3%) 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 (10.5%) and 8.4% 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.