DOCUMENT AND ENTITY INFORMATION	6 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Mar. 06, 2013
Entity Registrant Name	MAYS J W INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000054187
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--07-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Trading Symbol	mays
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,015,780
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013