With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Palmyra works elsewhere
453 jobs are based in Palmyra for 878 working residents. For jobs and income Palmyra is better than 30% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (C+). 8% of workers have no commute at all (Maine 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Palmyra apart
Stores, warehouses and trucking
68% of the jobs in Palmyra are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Palmyra
55% of Palmyra residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 26% of the jobs based in Palmyra pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Palmyra than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Palmyra fell from 658 in 2013 to 453 in 2023, −31%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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; with 878 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Palmyra
The poverty rate holds Palmyra’s grade up (9.1%, U.S. 12.5%); household income pulls it down ($60,543, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (1.5%) is left out: Palmyra’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, Palmyra could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Jobs in Palmyra: what the 453 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmyra, 2013 → 2023: 658 → 453. 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 Palmyra’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Palmyra
On a workday 865 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 440 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Palmyra on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
12% of working residents work in Pittsfield
Where Palmyra clocks in
12% of workers
12% of workers
8% 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.
About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of Maine
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmyra workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 894 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where in the region Palmyra works
About 25% 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.
In Palmyra, the car does most of the work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 4.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 967 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). 10.1% of Palmyra households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Palmyra’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Palmyra ranks: 3,213th of 5,148 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 268 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 551 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 600 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,211 | Ludlow VT | 2,134 | $55K | 5.6% | 6.8% | 44% | C |
| 3,212 | Orleans IN | 2,073 | $65K | 13.9% | 3.6% | 10% | C |
| 3,213 | Palmyra ME | 2,077 | $61K | 9.1% | 1.5% | 1% | C |
| 3,214 | Clarence Township MI | 1,897 | $67K | 12.9% | 2.9% | 2% | C |
| 3,215 | Masonville Township MI | 1,625 | $79K | 9.4% | 6.4% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Palmyra, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
22% of Palmyra works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Pittsfield (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palmyra workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmyra | – | C | C+ | 21 min | $60,543 |
| Hartland | under 2% | D | C− | 30 min | $46,141 |
| St. Albans | under 2% | D | C+ | 33 min | $65,600 |
| Newport | 8% | C | C | 25 min | $60,365 |
| Pittsfield | 12% | C− | B+ | 24 min | $57,381 |
| Detroit | 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Detroit: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palmyra’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 Palmyra: questions
What is the median household income in Palmyra?
$60,543 (±$17,286) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmyra?
9.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmyra?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmyra work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsfield (12%, 6 mi), Bangor (12%, 28 mi), Newport (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palmyra walkable?
Palmyra is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmyra without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palmyra, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palmyra
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.