Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Palmer Township earn more than those in 86% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 4.5% of residents, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania. Palmer Township grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 8.3 in Allentown.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Palmer Township in brief
Palmer Township trades workers with the towns around it
Palmer Township has about as many jobs (9,498) as working residents (10,198), but they are mostly different people: 9,424 residents leave for work each day while 8,724 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Palmer Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Palmer Township’s commute
The biggest draw, Bethlehem, gets only 7% of working residents, and 55% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Palmer Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
45% of the jobs in Palmer Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Palmer Township draws workers from far and wide
The 9,498 jobs in Palmer Township are filled from a wide area. Palmer Township’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
The four measures behind Palmer Township’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palmer Township is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #205 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Household income is its strongest input ($116,014, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment 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 B+ to A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Palmer Township
On a workday 9,424 residents head out to work, 774 work right here, and 8,724 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.93 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
7% of working residents work in Bethlehem
Where Palmer Township clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
Inside Palmer Township’s 9,498 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmer Township, 2013 → 2023: 7,426 → 9,498. 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.
Time on the road from Palmer Township: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmer Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,925 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Short hops and long hauls from Palmer Township
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.
Palmer Township is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palmer Township is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #342 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.6% across Pennsylvania.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,676 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 2.5% of Palmer Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Palmer Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Palmer Township is 392nd of 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | South Fayette Township PA | 18,648 | $124K | 3.6% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Youngsville LA | 19,980 | $106K | 9.1% | 1.2% | 8% | A |
| 391 | Rutland Township IL | 29,843 | $106K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 2% | A |
| 392 | Palmer Township PA | 22,721 | $116K | 4.5% | 4.0% | 8% | A |
| 393 | Lafayette CO | 30,116 | $119K | 5.6% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| 394 | Camas WA | 27,749 | $141K | 5.0% | 4.0% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Pennsylvania.
Palmer Township and its neighbors: 17% work next door
The biggest share goes to Easton (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palmer Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Township | – | A | A− | 28 min | $116,014 |
| Forks Township | 4% | A | C+ | 30 min | $110,190 |
| Easton | 5% | C+ | A+ | 28 min | $69,348 |
| Stockertown | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Wilson | under 3% | B | A | 25 min | $82,902 |
| Tatamy | under 3% | A+ | A | 28 min | $122,188 |
| Lower Nazareth Township | 3% | A− | B− | 30 min | $125,995 |
| Bethlehem Township | 5% | A | A− | 26 min | $119,050 |
| Upper Nazareth Township | under 3% | A+ | C | 25 min | $121,969 |
| Eastlawn Gardens | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Stockertown: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Eastlawn Gardens: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. 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?
$116,014 (±$13,371) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmer Township?
4.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmer Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmer Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bethlehem (7%, 8 mi), Allentown (6%, 14 mi), Easton (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palmer Township walkable?
Palmer Township is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmer Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.