Fewer people are out of work in Palmer Township (0.2%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Palmer Township itself; outside it, St. Cloud draws the most (24%, 11 miles). Palmer Township grades A for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Palmer Township and work: the main findings
Palmer Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Palmer Township is a place people come home to
There are 188 jobs based in Palmer Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Palmer Township has about 1,500 people in it, 45% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Palmer Township and St. Cloud trade workers both ways
St. Cloud is the top workplace for Palmer Township residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Palmer Township come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Palmer Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palmer Township is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #44 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns). 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 Township could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 33 minutes each way for Palmer Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmer Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,227 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Palmer Township on a workday
On a workday 1,337 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 165 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Palmer Township on a workday afternoon, 45% fewer than live here.
0.14 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.
The places Palmer Township commutes to
Where Palmer Township clocks in
24% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
A place that makes things: 57% of Palmer Township’s jobs are in goods
188 jobs are based in Palmer Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmer Township, 2013 → 2023: 122 → 188. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Palmer Township
About 16% 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 Palmer Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palmer Township is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #260 of 273 in Minnesota. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 4.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,402 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). 0.8% of Palmer Township households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Palmer Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Palmer Township is 208th of 5,278 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,600 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Clyde Hill WA | 3,161 | $250K | 2.6% | 4.7% | 2% | A |
| 207 | Middle Creek Township KS | 1,876 | $136K | 2.3% | 4.6% | 4% | A |
| 208 | Palmer Township MN | 2,633 | $121K | 2.1% | 0.2% | 2% | A |
| 209 | Exeter WI | 2,209 | $115K | 3.2% | 1.3% | 1% | A |
| 210 | Coronita CA | 2,763 | $112K | 3.5% | 0.7% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,278 | 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 Palmer Township, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Palmer Township compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palmer Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Township | – | A | C− | 33 min | $120,625 |
| St. George Township | under 3% | A− | C+ | 26 min | $111,417 |
| Santiago Township | under 3% | A− | D | 32 min | $114,318 |
| Haven Township | under 3% | A− | C | 28 min | $104,167 |
| Becker Township | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Becker Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palmer Township’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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Palmer Township?
$120,625 (±$19,562) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmer Township?
2.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmer Township?
33 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmer Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Cloud (24%, 11 mi), Becker (5%, 10 mi), Minneapolis (5%, 51 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palmer Township walkable?
Palmer Township is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmer Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palmer Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palmer Township
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.