Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 3,412 residents, this town was settled in 1886.
St. James City’s lowest grade is for cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $427K, 5.6 years of the Cape Coral metro’s $76K median household income. It also trails on hazard risk — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. All told, that adds up to a D overall, better than a tenth of U.S. towns. That places it 547th of 634 in Florida. Fish Cabin at White Rock Shoals is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its midpoint rent is $2,829 a month, above both Florida’s towns ($1,647 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Nearly a quarter of the land here is conserved, where Florida’s towns sit at 3% and U.S. towns at 4.3%.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · USGS PAD-US.
Where St. James City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Coastal flooding makes up 16% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
42.9% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far St. James City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,105 in 2000, 3,876 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 3 maps from 1958 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. James City is unincorporated, so Lee County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in St. James City.
St. James City is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Fort Myers and other neighbors.
Federal aid has come to St. James City households in 8 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024. FEMA puts 69% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 16% to coastal flooding. This Florida town has had 869 paid flood insurance claims since 2020.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest park or preserve is Randell Research Center, at 571 acres. Across 5 parks and preserves: 1.7 miles of trail. For St. James City, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Randell Research Center | 0.4 mi | 571 |
| 2. Pine Island Commercial Marina | — | 15 |
| 3. Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 54.6°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.6°.
Its January low stands at 55°F.
| St. James City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 55°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
St. James City has about as many jobs (967) as working residents, but only 212 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 18.6 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
For half of commuters, work is under 17 miles away. St. James City’s average commute comes in at 19 minutes. Jobs in St. James City grew by 433 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 967.
| St. James City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $427K, is 21% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical home value in St. James City is about $427,000, up 2.4% in a year, 14% above the Florida typical home. For households in the town, the share who live in a home they own is 91%. Homes sold in St. James City spent a median 148 days on the market.
| St. James City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,829 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 91% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 10,469 U.S. towns with household incomes like St. James City’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in St. James City, 28% have obesity. Of 31 CDC measures, St. James City beats the Florida average on 15 and trails it on 8. Nearly half of adults in the town have high blood pressure; 86% had a checkup this year.
| St. James City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 37% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 79% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | St. James City | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.5% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.2% | 8.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 17.8% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. James City. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Stadium & arenaHertz Arena
15 mi MuseumEdison and Ford Winter Estates
12 mi State parkCayo Costa State Park17 mi State parkMound Key Archeological State Park
19 mi State parkKoreshan State Historic Site
37 mi Ancient siteWarm Mineral SpringsHertz Arena: Tthaas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edison and Ford Winter Estates: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cayo Costa State Park: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea_pauline/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Koreshan State Historic Site: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Warm Mineral Springs: Blas0082, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of St. James City
About 3 of every 100 St. James City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
St. James City or Saint James City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Pine Island in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,876 at the 2020 census, up from 3,784 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with St. James City.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. James City | #547 | D | C− | — | C+ | B |
| Pine Island Center | — | — | C | — | C+ | C+ |
Pine Island Center has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. St. James City and Pine Island Center report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare St. James City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. James City grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #547 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
