Photo: JonRidinger · CC BY 3.0Palmyra has lower unemployment (0.7%) than 96% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers; New York has 15%. Jobs and income earn Palmyra B+; getting around on foot earns it B−. Only 6% stay in Palmyra for work; outside it, Palmyra is the main destination (10%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Palmyra stands out on work
Commutes from Palmyra are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Palmyra than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Palmyra fell from 1,086 in 2013 to 765 in 2023, −30%. 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.
The four measures behind Palmyra’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palmyra is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #293 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Palmyra’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($64,983, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Palmyra could be anywhere from B− to A.
Time on the road from Palmyra: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmyra workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,543 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
What the 765 jobs in Palmyra are
765 jobs are based in Palmyra.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmyra, 2013 → 2023: 1,086 → 765. 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 daily flow of workers through Palmyra
On a workday 1,415 residents head out to work, 94 work right here, and 671 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Palmyra on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.51 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.
Out of Palmyra to work: where people go
Where Palmyra clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Palmyra
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, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palmyra is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #487 of 758 in New York. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,645 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 24% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 9.1% of Palmyra households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Palmyra’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Palmyra ranks: 1,439th of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 10 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,437 | Allyn WA | 2,404 | $98K | 1.4% | 6.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,438 | Paynesville MN | 2,591 | $75K | 5.6% | 2.4% | 34% | B+ |
| 1,439 | Palmyra NY | 3,257 | $65K | 10.4% | 0.7% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,440 | St. George ME | 2,595 | $89K | 7.7% | 0.0% | 22% | B+ |
| 1,441 | Sands Township MI | 2,363 | $87K | 7.5% | 1.5% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 New York.
Work in the towns next to Palmyra
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Macedon. 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?
$64,983 (±$11,190) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmyra?
10.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmyra?
23 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmyra work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Palmyra (10%, 2 mi), Rochester (10%, 21 mi), Macedon (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palmyra walkable?
Palmyra is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmyra without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.