Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,789, settled in 1888.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C+, ranked 139th of 286 in North Carolina. A typical home there costs about $204K, 3.2 years of the New Bern area’s $64K median household income. James City’s median age is 51.7 years, against 40.1 years in North Carolina’s towns and 40.5 years across U.S. towns. Mount Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church is on the National Register of Historic Places.
5,899 counted in 2010 and 5,291 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far James City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 5 maps from 1901 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
James City is unincorporated, so Craven 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 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in James City.
James City is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $959 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1996, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in James City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Craven County Board of Education school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brinson Memorial ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 446 | B− |
| New Bern Christian Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 479 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (23% statewide). 15% of residents are under 18 in James City. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina.
| James City | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 18% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.3 points). Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 62% are men (NC 50%).
| James City | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.3% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.3% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.4% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.2% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.9% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.1% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.2% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,800, single groups can be off by several points
James City has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest place to walk is Creekside Park, 110 acres with 1.3 miles of trail.
| James City | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Creekside Park | 1.3 mi | 110 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave James City for work: only 9% work in town. James City’s average trip to work is 22 minutes. The top destinations are New Bern (33%), Havelock (5%) and Raleigh (4%).
| James City | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.5% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,656 U.S. towns with household incomes like James City’s, it is healthier than 86%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
James City beats the North Carolina average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 31% of James City adults sleep under 7 hours.
| James City | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | James City | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.9% | 12.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.5% | 15.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median sale price was $350,000 in May 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of James City
About 4 of every 100 James City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
James City is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, James City had a population of 5,291. It is part of the New Bern, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with James City.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James City | #139 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B |
| New Bern | #230 | D | C | C | C+ | B− |
| Brices Creek | #136 | C+ | C+ | — | C+ | B+ |
James City and Brices Creek report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare James City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
James City grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #139 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
The typical home is worth about $204,000, 38% below the North Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.