Fish Cabin at White Rock Shoals · Photo: Florida Department of State - Division of Historical Resources - Bureau of Historic Preservation · Public domainHow St. James City works: jobs, income and commuting
About one in seven work in St. James City itself; outside it, Cape Coral draws the most (11%, 9 miles). St. James City grades C for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Working residents average 19 minutes each way, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in St. James City: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from St. James City are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 28 across Florida. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Florida worker. Time on the road ↓
St. James City’s workforce skews older
41% of St. James City’s working residents are 55 or older. That’s about two in five. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
St. James City makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in St. James City are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs St. James City residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind St. James City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, St. James City is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #540 of 638 in Florida. The poverty rate holds St. James City’s grade up (9.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (9.1%) is left out: St. James City’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, St. James City could be anywhere from D to B−.
Commuting from St. James City: about 19 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. James City workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 728 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
39% of the jobs in St. James City make or build things
862 jobs are based in St. James City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. James City, 2014 → 2024: 688 → 862. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs St. James City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of St. James City commutes less than 22 miles
About 38% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In and out of St. James City on a workday
On a workday 896 residents head out to work, 137 work right here, and 725 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from St. James City work
Where St. James City clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Few in St. James City walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. James City is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns, #483 of 638 in Florida. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across Florida, on an EPA index of 5.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 880 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.6% of St. James City households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of St. James City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600, St. James City ranks 3,333rd of 4,402 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Bay Hill FL | 4,512 | $128K | 0.7% | 1.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Geneva FL | 3,441 | $133K | 0.6% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Windermere FL | 3,344 | $178K | 1.3% | 2.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,331 | Whitefield NH | 2,535 | $63K | 11.0% | 4.3% | 14% | C |
| 3,332 | Roosevelt Gardens FL | 3,031 | $50K | 22.2% | 8.0% | <1% | C |
| 3,333 | St. James City FL | 3,412 | $69K | 9.7% | 9.1% | 13% | C |
| 3,334 | Lakeshore LA | 3,437 | $48K | 23.7% | 4.5% | 1% | C |
| 3,335 | Longview Heights WA | 4,357 | $75K | 11.2% | 9.9% | <1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of St. James City, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
St. James City and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. James City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. James City | – | C | B− | 19 min | $69,403 |
| Pine Island Center | under 2% | C− | B− | 23 min | $68,173 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. James City’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in St. James City: questions
What is the median household income in St. James City?
$69,403 (±$15,130) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. James City?
9.7%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. James City?
19 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. James City work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cape Coral (11%, 9 mi), Fort Myers (10%, 18 mi), Tampa (3%, 101 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is St. James City walkable?
St. James City is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. James City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. James City, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. James City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.