Second Cape May Baptist Church, Palermo, NJ, Nov. 2025, 2025
Palermo’s story
154 years in pictures
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2025.
- 1872Palermo is settled
PalermoNJ
Settled in 1872, this town now has 2,696 residents.
Population
2,696
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$395K
Census ACS
Household income
$101K
median
Median age
47.4
years
Jobs based here
330
A commuter town
Is Palermo a good place to live?
Among 469 New Jersey towns, just 3 have a higher home-ownership rate than Palermo. The biggest park or preserve is Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, at 33 acres. We don’t grade Palermo yet; the figures below are still real.
By the sea
Palermo lives by the ocean
Coastal flooding makes up 16% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
16%of expected storm damage is coastal flooding
99thpercentile for coastal flood risk nationally
333paid flood-insurance claims since 1980
87thpercentile for hurricane risk
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Nearby attractions
All 134 attractions →Pine Barrens and 20 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palermo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
11 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
16 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
17 mi Theme parkSteel Pier
7 mi Theme parkGillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark
18 mi Theme parkMorey's PiersSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Pine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Steel Pier: Make Lemons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark: Kevin Jarrett from Northfield, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Morey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Getting set up
Moving to Palermo: who provides what
Palermo is unincorporated, so Cape May County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerAtlantic City Electric25.8¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterNj American Water - Ocean CityNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesCape May CountyCape May County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn New Jersey you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person until 21 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 21 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereCape May County ClerkCape May County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP codes08230, 0822308230 82% · 08223 18%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Palermo.
Who lives here
Palermo skews older than New Jersey
Among adults 25 and older in Palermo, 47% hold a bachelor’s degree or more, near the New Jersey town median (45%) and above the median of U.S. towns (29%). People 65 and older are 34% of residents (17% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 29% of residents (40% statewide). Nearly a quarter of residents are under 18 in the town.
47.4median age · NJ 40.1
| Palermo | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.4 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 21% | 22% |
PalermoNew JerseyUnited States
Ages · share of residents
17%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma1%
High school33%
Some college13%
Associate’s6%
Bachelor’s31%
Graduate16%
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 37% and 61% women
The Census survey reached too few of Palermo’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.9 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Palermo | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1.8% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.4% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 17.4% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.4% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.8% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.9% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.8% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.1% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
Work & commute
Palermo stands out in New Jersey and nationally: a smaller share of its working residents work locally
In Palermo, the mean commuting time is 24 minutes. Jobs based in Palermo grew to 330 in 2023, 28 more than in 2013. Palermo: 2% of residents live below the poverty line. Its middle household income stands at $101,000, against $113,000 in New Jersey’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns.
2%work in town
| Palermo | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.6% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Palermo2%
Upper Township13%
Ocean City9%
Middle Township9%
Somers Point5%
14 mi
median commute distance
330
jobs based in Palermo
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
17″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter29–45°
Spring44–60°
Summer66–82°
Fall50–67°
Nov 22
typical first frost
Mar 26
typical last frost
+2.3°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazards
Natural hazards: high risk in Palermo, mostly inland flooding
FEMA puts 38% of Palermo’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 20% to hurricanes. On expected storm and flood damage, Palermo sits above just over three fifths of U.S. communities. Since 1980, Palermo has seen 333 flood insurance claims paid out.
61risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesCoastal flooding
333
paid flood claims since 1980
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Health
A smaller share of adults sleep under 7 hours in Palermo than in most of New Jersey or the rest of the country
The share of adults in Palermo who get no exercise outside work: 18%. The town does better than the New Jersey average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3.
| Palermo | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 25% |
32 measures vs. New Jersey
15 better14 too close to call3 worse
| What stands out | Palermo | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.3% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.6% | 7.5% |
Shore Medical Center
7.9 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
Conservation land takes up 4.7% of Palermo
Trails total 0.5 miles in 2 parks and preserves. The trail network density in Palermo is 0.2 miles per square mile.
4.7%conserved
| Palermo | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 11% | 4.3% |
4.7%
conserved · 94 of 2,022 acres
0.5 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cape May National Wildlife Refuge | — | 33 |
| 2. Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
$485Kmedian sale price
1
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Palermo
16pages on Palermo
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Palermo; the nearest are
Atlantic Cape Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Mays Landing15.8 mi$6,068 in-state tuitionStockton UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Galloway19.7 mi$16,266 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Palermo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Palermo for work
Where Palermo’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
330jobs based in Palermo
2%of working residents work in town
14 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Palermo
Populated place in Cape May County, New Jersey, US
Palermo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Township, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, Palermo had a population of 3,183. Palermo is located 14 mi (23 km) northeast of Cape May Court House. The Palermo Air Force Station, closed in 1970, was located south of Palermo.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 10 ft
Palermo’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Palermo.
MarmoraSeavillePalermo
How the neighbors grade
Palermo, Marmora and Seaville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Palermo with a neighbor →
Questions about Palermo
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Palermo, NJ a good place to live?
We don’t grade Palermo yet; the figures below are still real.