Photo: Nyttend · Public domainPalermo has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For jobs and income Palermo is better than 53% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (C). 110 jobs are based in Palermo; 651 of its residents have a job. Only 3% work in Palermo; the top destination outside it is Augusta (17%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Palermo at work: what stands out
Palermo is a place people come home to
There are 110 jobs based in Palermo, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Palermo has about 1,100 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Palermo workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 651 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Palermo’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Palermo’s grade up (4.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (2.3%) is left out: Palermo’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Palermo could be anywhere from C to B+.
Who works in Palermo, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 632 residents head out to work, 19 work right here, and 91 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Palermo on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Palermo: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palermo workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 639 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across Maine: 84% 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.
Out of Palermo to work: where people go
Where Palermo clocks in
17% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in Palermo: what the 110 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palermo, 2013 → 2023: 66 → 110. 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 Palermo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Palermo’s workers travel
About 15% 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.
Driving is how Palermo gets around
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 4.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 787 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.7% of Palermo households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Palermo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200, Palermo ranks 2,107th of 6,161 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 556 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 603 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,105 | Greenback TN | 1,251 | $73K | 9.9% | 4.1% | 2% | B− |
| 2,106 | Buckeye Township IL | 1,170 | $76K | 7.1% | 4.3% | 3% | B− |
| 2,107 | Palermo ME | 1,636 | $89K | 4.8% | 2.3% | 3% | B− |
| 2,108 | Hope ME | 1,737 | $87K | 5.3% | 1.9% | 6% | B− |
| 2,109 | Lindley NY | 1,756 | $87K | 6.8% | 5.8% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Palermo, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Palermo
The biggest share goes to China (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palermo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palermo | – | B− | C | 31 min | $89,095 |
| China | 4% | B+ | B− | 30 min | $96,309 |
| Liberty | under 3% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Washington | under 3% | D | C− | 32 min | $59,861 |
| Somerville | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Windsor | under 3% | C+ | C− | 36 min | $63,178 |
Same-state neighbors only. Liberty and Somerville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palermo’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 Palermo: questions
What is the median household income in Palermo?
$89,095 (±$15,252) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palermo?
4.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palermo?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palermo work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (17%, 16 mi), Waterville (8%, 15 mi), Belfast (6%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palermo walkable?
Palermo is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palermo without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palermo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palermo
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.