Fewer people are out of work in Palmer Ranch (1.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
24% of workers work from home (Florida 16%). Palmer Ranch grades A for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Palmer Ranch, in brief
Palmer Ranch is a place people come home to
There are 1,477 jobs based in Palmer Ranch, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Palmer Ranch
24% of Palmer Ranch workers work from home, against 16% across Florida. Time on the road ↓
Palmer Ranch’s workforce skews older
37% of Palmer Ranch’s working residents are 55 or older. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Palmer Ranch’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palmer Ranch is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #45 of 638 in Florida. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (6.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Palmer Ranch could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Palmer Ranch on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,974 residents head out to work, 159 work right here, and 1,318 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Palmer Ranch on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.29 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting from Palmer Ranch: about 25 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmer Ranch workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,373 commuters (the 24% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Palmer Ranch
1,477 jobs are based in Palmer Ranch.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmer Ranch, 2013 → 2023: 1,166 → 1,477. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palmer Ranch’s own residents hold wherever they work.
18% of working residents work in Sarasota
Where Palmer Ranch clocks in
18% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Near or far: the trip to work from Palmer Ranch
About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Palmer Ranch: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palmer Ranch is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns, #563 of 638 in Florida. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.6% across Florida.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,788 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 5% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.7% of Palmer Ranch households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Palmer Ranch’s commuters take a bus or train.
Palmer Ranch places 400th of 1,999 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Pinecrest FL | 18,635 | $206K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Lake Butler FL | 17,125 | $183K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Palm Valley FL | 19,796 | $117K | 4.2% | 1.2% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 398 | Tenafly NJ | 15,237 | $208K | 3.5% | 6.8% | 5% | A |
| 399 | Greendale WI | 14,426 | $95K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 6% | A |
| 400 | Palmer Ranch FL | 16,867 | $103K | 6.9% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| 401 | Sherwood OR | 20,535 | $110K | 4.3% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| 402 | North Greenbush NY | 13,523 | $117K | 5.1% | 3.4% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Palmer Ranch, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Palmer Ranch and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Osprey (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palmer Ranch workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Ranch | – | A | C | 25 min | $102,838 |
| Osprey | 1% | A− | A | 23 min | $103,516 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palmer Ranch’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Palmer Ranch: questions
What is the median household income in Palmer Ranch?
$102,838 (±$11,687) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmer Ranch?
6.9%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmer Ranch?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmer Ranch work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sarasota (18%, 9 mi), South Sarasota (5%, 6 mi), Venice (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palmer Ranch walkable?
Palmer Ranch is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmer Ranch without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palmer Ranch, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palmer Ranch
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.