Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
St. It grades B overall, 196th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $60K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. 40% of working residents work locally in St. James, above both the Minnesota town median (9.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Only 35 of Minnesota’s 572 towns score lower on health. St. James has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Watonwan County Courthouse and Grand Opera House.
Where St. James beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far St. James is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 444 in 1880, 4,793 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. James, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in St. James.
St. James is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
At 2.2 years of the county’s $72K median household income, the typical home (about $158K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Home values rose 56% in five years, to about $158K, against 14% across Minnesota.
The typical St. The median rent in St. James is $839 a month. James home is worth about $158,000, up 1.6% in a year, 55% below the Minnesota typical home.
| St. James | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $839 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the St. James Public School District. The largest public high school is St. James Middle/High School, with 566 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST. James Northside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 502 | C+ |
| St. James Middle/High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 566 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in St. James since 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The St James Wwtp weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 160 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 84% of Minnesota places with climate records. January nights average 6.4°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 90% of Minnesota places with climate records; July afternoons average 82.6°.
St. James’ January low is 6°F. James has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| St. James | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes rose from 35 to 54 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 8,988 U.S. towns with household incomes like St. James’s, it is healthier than 57%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in St. James. Only 4 of the 271 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than St. James. 74% of adults had a checkup this year in St. James.
| St. James | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 7.3% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | St. James | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 16.7% | 7.5% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.4% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.2% | 11.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 2,349 in 2013 to 1,866.
40% of St. Since 2013, St. James has lost 483 jobs, to 1,866 in 2023. James’s working residents work right in town.
| St. James | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $60,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Southside Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Deer Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of St. James; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 St. James residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
2 places in St. James on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in St. James.
City in Minnesota, United States
St. James or Saint James is a city in and the county seat of Watonwan County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,793 at the 2020 census. Minnesota State Highways 4, 30, and 60 are three of the main routes in the city.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with St. James.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. James · St. James Township | #196 | B | A− | B+ | C+ | C+ |
| Rosendale Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Rosendale Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). St. James Township and St. James are one community, graded once. Compare St. James with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. St. James grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #196 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C+ for health, B+ for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
St. 10 notable people were born here, including Franklin Ellsworth and Becky Buller.
