St. JamesMD
This town of 4,824 people was settled in 1946.
What should you know before moving to St. James?
Taken together, its subjects give St. James an A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns. That places it 69th of 259 in Maryland. Incomes are where it shines (A): the median household earns $97K. Health is another plus: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 79% of the country. The catch is cost of living (C+): the typical home is worth about $452K, 5.7 years of the Hagerstown metro’s $79K median household income. Only 12 of Maryland’s 329 towns score lower on history. St. James’ typical journey to work is 38 minutes, where Maryland’s towns sit at 32 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 16 of Maryland’s 329 towns score lower on the outdoors.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places · USGS PAD-US.
What makes St. James stand out
Where St. James beats most towns.
| Widest gap | St. James | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.4% |
St. James has grown 61% from 2010 to 2020
2,953 counted in 2010 and 4,757 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How St. James grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far St. James is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Raven Rock Mountain Complex and 30 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. James. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
Big draw36 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
5 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a year
4 mi National Historical ParkChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park4.6M visitors a year
16 mi National Historical ParkHarpers Ferry National Historical Park538K visitors a year
32 mi Ancient siteGettysburg BattlefieldPhoto credits
Raven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Antietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park: Bonnachoven, CC0 · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Mark Fickett, CC BY 3.0 · Gettysburg Battlefield: Veggies, Public domain
Moving to St. James: who provides what
St. James is unincorporated, so Washington 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 Mar 11, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in St. James.
Natural hazards: very low risk in St. James, mostly inland flooding
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 48% of St. James’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 16% to hurricanes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
St. James’ public schools outperform 64% of Maryland districts
Its two schools are below. The Washington County Public Schools runs its public schools. 655 students attend St. James’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockland Woods ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 655 | B− |
| St. James School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 240 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
For health, St. James earns an A−
St. James: 11% of adults worry about having enough food. In St. James, 15% of adults say their health is fair or poor, and 39% sleep under 7 hours.
| St. James | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 19% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 23% |
| What stands out | St. James | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.3% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
St. James has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs based here grew from 492 in 2013 to 935.
Among working residents in St. James, 1.8% work locally. Employers in St. James added 443 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 935. The top destinations are Hagerstown (16%), Frederick (7%) and Robinwood (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.
| St. James | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 3.2% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
St. James has four seasons and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 87° and January nights drop to 23°.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For cost of living, St. James earns a C+
A home in St. James typically sold within 35 days of listing. Zillow values the typical St. James home at about $452,000, about the same as a year ago, 6% above the Maryland typical home. For St. James, the midpoint rent is $1,289 a month.
| St. James | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,289 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 74% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about St. James
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of St. James
About 5 of every 100 St. James residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
98% of working residents leave St. James for work
Where St. James’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About St. James
CDP in Maryland, United States
St. James is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,657 at the 2000 census. It is also the home of St. James School, Hagerstown, a small, Episcopalian, boarding school. St. James was formerly named "Lydia."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 456 ft
- ZIP code
- 21781
Questions about St. James
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is St. James, MD a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. St. James grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #69 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A− for health and B for schools.
Is St. James, MD expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.