Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Palmer Town has lower unemployment (2.9%) than 71% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Palmer Town for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (14%, 13 miles). Jobs and income earn Palmer Town B+; getting around on foot earns it C+. Home is the office for 7% of workers, where Massachusetts as a whole has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Palmer Town’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palmer Town is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #195 of 283 in Massachusetts. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($78,480, U.S. $80,734). 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 Town could be anywhere from B− to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Palmer Town
On a workday 4,684 residents head out to work, 868 work right here, and 3,229 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Palmer Town on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.74 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 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Palmer Town’s residents
Where Palmer Town clocks in
14% of workers
4% 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.
The 4,097 jobs based in Palmer Town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmer Town, 2014 → 2024: 4,238 → 4,097. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palmer Town’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 31 minutes in Palmer Town
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmer Town workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,937 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Palmer Town commutes
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Palmer Town is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palmer Town is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #241 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Palmer Town near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,404 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 6.3% of Palmer Town households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Palmer Town’s commuters take a bus or train.
Palmer Town places 995th of 2,354 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 993 | Northbridge MA | 16,799 | $111K | 7.9% | 6.1% | 11% | B+ |
| 994 | Southside AL | 9,718 | $76K | 4.4% | 2.9% | 5% | B+ |
| 995 | Palmer Town MA | 12,367 | $78K | 8.3% | 2.9% | 16% | B+ |
| 996 | Troutdale OR | 15,776 | $89K | 7.4% | 4.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 997 | San Anselmo CA | 12,555 | $174K | 7.4% | 7.0% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Town, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
How Palmer Town compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Monson (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palmer Town workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Town | – | B+ | C+ | 31 min | $78,480 |
| Monson | 3% | B | C+ | 34 min | $96,688 |
| Belchertown | under 3% | A− | B− | 29 min | $108,068 |
| Brimfield | under 3% | A | D | 34 min | $111,250 |
| Warren | under 3% | C+ | D | 33 min | $66,082 |
| Ware | under 3% | C | B+ | 28 min | $67,475 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palmer Town’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 2024, 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 Town: questions
What is the median household income in Palmer Town?
$78,480 (±$7,854) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmer Town?
8.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmer Town?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmer Town work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (14%, 13 mi), Chicopee (4%, 14 mi), Wilbraham (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Palmer Town walkable?
Palmer Town is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmer Town without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palmer Town, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palmer Town
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.