Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / North Carolina

James City, North Carolina

James City is an unincorporated community of about 4,800 people in Craven County, North Carolina. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 3.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Raleigh, is about 107 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,789
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$204,400
Craven County prices up 25% since 2022
Household income
$58,973
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural North Carolina
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
New Bern, NC
To Raleigh
107 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Craven Early College High, about 7 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCarolina East Medical Center in New Bern, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 107 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means James City meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$204,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 25%Craven County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,019 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$58,973U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,042 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas, not James City alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
4,789The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
51.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
27%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (29%); retail (22%); manufacturing (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Carolina East Medical Center, New Bern, NC, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in James City, run by Craven County Board of Education. The nearest public high school is Craven Early College High, about 7 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on North Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
83%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
34°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
48 a year
Nights at or below freezing
47 a year
Rain and melted snow
57.4 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
26 feet

Weather stations: New Bern Craven Co Ap (3 miles away) and Cherry Point Mcas (12 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Carolina East Medical Center, Jacksonville, Raleigh.

Craven County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cape Lookout National Seashore31 miles
  • Cape Hatteras National Seashore56 miles

Read about James City's history on Wikipedia.

Know James City?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Bridgeton, NC345 people, 6 miles
  • Arapahoe, NC432 people, 10 miles
  • Minnesott Beach, NC544 people, 11 miles
  • Grantsboro, NC728 people, 11 miles
  • Alliance, NC764 people, 13 miles
  • Pollocksville, NC276 people, 13 miles
  • Cherry Branch, NC (unincorporated)1,684 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.