Best PlacesJames City, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around James City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
James City ranks 28,676th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in James City
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
James City's strengths and weaknesses
Where James City ranks high
- QuietBetter than 94% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 84% of towns
Where James City ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 17% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in James City
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median James City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,614, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses James City's effective rate of 1.03%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in James City
James City runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for James City.
Who works in James City, and how
Work in James City centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in James City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across James City.
What the weather is like in James City, month by month
James City sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 69° | 56° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of James City
The nearest airport, Bradford Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around James City
Schools across James City average an A−, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kane Area El SchB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kane Area MsB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Kane Area HsA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every James City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
James City measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare James City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in James City
Is James City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, James City ranks 28,676th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, low disaster risk, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is James City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $100,152. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $56,614 median income, cost of living beats 18% of towns.
Is James City safe?
Yes, James City is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $215 per resident a year.
Compare James City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to James City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in James City represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
James City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for James City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in James City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of James City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in James City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
James City detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.