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Towns / North Carolina

St. James, North Carolina

St. James is a small town of about 7,300 people in Brunswick County, North Carolina. It's growing fast: its population is up 12% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.5 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 134 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
7,318
up 12% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$636,800
Brunswick County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$116,383
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Wilmington area
96.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Southport, NC
To Raleigh
134 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.6% below the U.S. average in the Wilmington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for St. James itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is South Brunswick High, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byJ Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 134 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 St. James 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.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 12% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$636,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Brunswick County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$116,383U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
96%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,873 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
54%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
12%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.4U.S. average = 100 (the Wilmington metro area)

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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Wilmington metro area, not St. James 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, 2025 estimate
7,3182020: 6,548
Median age
68 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
63%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
2%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
68%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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
Professional and business services (15%); finance, insurance and real estate (13%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: J Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital, Southport, NC, about 5 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Supply, NC, about 12 miles away. 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

There are no public schools inside St. James itself. The nearest public high school is South Brunswick High, about 6 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
84%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%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
36°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
46 a year
Nights at or below freezing
51 a year
Rain and melted snow
61.1 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
39 feet

Weather stations: Southport 5 N (6 miles away) and Leland 5.7 WSW (18 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: J Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital, Wilmington, Raleigh.

Brunswick County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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:

  • Moores Creek National Battlefield35 miles

Read about St. James's history on Wikipedia.

Know St. James?

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

  • Caswell Beach, NC381 people, 4 miles
  • Varnamtown, NC525 people, 8 miles
  • Bald Head Island, NC279 people, 9 miles
  • Bolivia, NC271 people, 9 miles
  • Holden Beach, NC916 people, 13 miles
  • Sea Breeze, NC (unincorporated)1,849 people, 15 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.