Best PlacesJames, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around James, 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 ranks 33,727th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state finances.
The best neighborhoods in James
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' strengths and weaknesses
Where James ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 74% of towns
- Cheap childcare$646 a month, better than 74% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 73% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 71% of towns
Where James ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in James
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median James home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,373, 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' effective rate of 0.87%, 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 9 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
James runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for James.
Who works in James, and how
Work in James centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in James
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across James.
What the weather is like in James, month by month
James sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 47° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 65° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 79° | 67° | 58° |
Flying in and out of James
The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around James
Schools across James average a C, better than 38% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Turner Woods Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Mattie Wells Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Jeffersonville ElementaryD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gray Station Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Clifton Ridge Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Twiggs Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Jones County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Twiggs County High SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Northeast High SchoolF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every James school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
James 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 against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in James
Is James a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, James ranks 33,727th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, state infrastructure, and affordable childcare, and lowest on a weak job market and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is James expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,311. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $81,373 median income, cost of living beats 68% of towns.
Is James safe?
James is safer than 17% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $501 per resident a year.
Compare James with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to James. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in James 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for James: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in James: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of James: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in James: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
James 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.