With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of St. James works elsewhere
Household incomes here are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns. St. James has 741 jobs; 1,476 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn St. James B; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
St. James and work: the main findings
St. James workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 50 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 383 hours of commuting, 192 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of St. James works from home
40% of St. James workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
46% 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 has added jobs fast
Jobs based in St. James went from 484 in 2013 to 741 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in St. James
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. James is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #110 of 290 in North Carolina. Household income holds St. James’ grade up ($116,383, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 21% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, St. James could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The daily trip from St. James: about 50 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 16.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. James workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 872 commuters (the 40% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 85% 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.
How many miles St. James commutes
About 46% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Jobs in St. James: what the 741 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. James, 2013 → 2023: 484 → 741. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs St. James’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of St. James
On a workday 1,412 residents head out to work, 64 work right here, and 677 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,600 people are in St. James on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Southport
Where St. James clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Getting around St. James: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. James is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #52 of 290 in North Carolina. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 22.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.9% across North Carolina, on an EPA index of 6.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,446 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.0% of St. James households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 23% of St. James’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, St. James is 1,595th of 3,154 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 305 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 368 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,593 | Connerton FL | 7,650 | $124K | 5.0% | 8.7% | 1% | B |
| 1,594 | Wake Village TX | 5,796 | $72K | 14.3% | 2.0% | 1% | B |
| 1,595 | St. James NC | 7,318 | $116K | 4.3% | 6.2% | 4% | B |
| 1,596 | Hurricane WV | 7,367 | $71K | 8.5% | 3.6% | 6% | B |
| 1,597 | Charlestown IN | 8,802 | $77K | 12.5% | 4.0% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Work in the towns next to St. James
The biggest share goes to Oak Island (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. James workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. James | – | B | B+ | 50 min | $116,383 |
| Oak Island | 7% | B− | B | 23 min | $85,872 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. James’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 2023, 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: questions
What is the median household income in St. James?
$116,383 (±$17,360) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. James?
4.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. James?
50 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 40% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. James work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Southport (9%, 5 mi), Wilmington (8%, 22 mi), Oak Island (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is St. James walkable?
St. James is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 23% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. James without a car?
23% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. James, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. James
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.