Business and industry
- James Marion West Sr. (1871–1941), Texas businessman and politician
- James Marion West Jr. (1903–1957), Texas businessman
- James West (inventor) (born in 1931), American engineer, co-inventor of the electret microphone
Law and politics
- James West (historian) (1703–1772), English politician and historian, president of the Royal Society
- James E. West (politician) (1951–2006), American politician, mayor of Spokane, Washington
- James I. West Jr. (1930–2014), American politician, member of the Georgia House of Representatives
Sports
- James West (football manager) (active during 1900), British football manager
- James West (golfer) (born 1885, died 1968), English golfer
- James West (Scottish footballer) (born 1891, death year unknown), Scottish footballer
- Jim West (baseball) (born 1911, died 1970), American Negro league baseball player
- Jim West (sportscaster) (born 1929, died 2024), American sports announcer
- Jim West (boxer) (born 1954, died 2015), Australian boxer
- James West (Canadian football) (born 1955), Canadian football player
- Jim West (footballer) (born 1966), Australian footballer
- Jim West (cricketer) (born 1982), Bermudian cricketer
- James West (runner) (born 1996), English middle-distance runner
Others
- James E. West (Scouting) (1876–1948), first main leader of the Boy Scouts of America
- James Grey West (1885–1951), British architect
- J. B. West (James Bernard West, 1912–1983), main usher of the White House
- James West (physician) (1914–2012), American doctor, psychiatrist, and surgeon
- James R. West (1946–2021), American trumpet player and teacher
- Jim West (guitarist) (born 1953), American guitarist, movie and TV music composer
- Jim West (biblical scholar) (born 1960), Christian pacifist biblical scholar and activist
- James West (Australian journalist) (born 1982), Australian journalist and author