Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Palmer Town grades D overall, 261st of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts, mostly because of schools. Its public schools trail 83% of Massachusetts towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: it has 12 miles of trail. Palmer Town’s trail network density is 0.4 miles per square mile, against 1.8 in Massachusetts’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 28 of Massachusetts’ 321 towns score lower on health. Palmer Town has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them US Post Office-Palmer Main and Union Station.
Where Palmer Town beats most towns.
Census counts: 809 in 1790, 12,448 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1879 and 7 maps from 1887 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Palmer Town is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palmer Town. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
15 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
12 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
19 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
35 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
34 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney StadiumLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palmer Town, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Palmer Town.
Typical home values rose 3.9% in the year to September 2026. Palmer Town’s rent at the middle of the market is $1,075 a month. On the market here: a median 18 days to sell.
| Palmer Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,075 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The largest public high school is Pathfinder Vocational Technical, with 660 students. Public schools: the Palmer school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Mill PondLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 677 | C |
| Pathfinder Vocational TechnicalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 660 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its mean commuting time is 31 minutes. Palmer Town’s median household income stands at $78,000, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at $120,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Jobs here fell by 389 from 2013 to 2023, to 3,889. Among working residents in the town, 14% work locally.
| Palmer Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.3% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Palmer Wildlife Management Area, at 1,149 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. It has 10 parks and preserves, 1,622 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Midura Family Conservation Area | 2.6 mi | 192 |
| 2. Palmer Wildlife Management Area | 1.4 mi | 1,149 |
| 3. Red Bridge State Park | 0.6 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expect July afternoons of 83° and January nights of 16°, with about 43 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 23.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 84% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
The rate of reported violence for Palmer Town comes to 4.5 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime for Palmer Town comes to 6.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Palmer Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Palmer Town: just over one in ten adults have diabetes. Among adults in the town, 36% feel lonely and 19% report frequent mental distress.
| Palmer Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Palmer Town | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 15.3% | 11.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.9% | 5.9% |
| More adults in frequent physical distress | 15.5% | 12.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA puts 70% of Palmer Town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 14% to hurricanes. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. The town has had 4 paid flood insurance claims since 2005.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 within 15 miles of the center of Palmer Town
About 3 of every 100 Palmer Town residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Palmer Town’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Palmer Town on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Palmer Town.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. With a population of 12,448 at the 2020 census, Palmer is the least populous city in the Commonwealth. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a council-manager form of government. Palmer is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have city forms of government but retain "The town of" in their official names. The villages of Bondsville, Thorndike, Depot Village, and Three Rivers are located in Palmer.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Palmer Town.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Town | #261 | D | C− | C+ | C− | B− |
| Monson | #254 | C− | C | B− | C− | B− |
| Belchertown | #147 | B+ | C− | B+ | B− | A |
| Brimfield | #103 | A− | C | A | B | A− |
| Warren | #238 | C | B− | B | C+ | B |
| Ware | #267 | D | C+ | C | D | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palmer Town grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #261 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Palmer Town sits nearer the middle.
Yes. That is 4.7 years of the area's median household income ($71,306 across the Springfield, MA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
12 notable people were born here, including Chad Stahelski and Marie-Claire Kirkland.
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