Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,615, settled in 1900. 84% more nonprofits per person than the typical Pennsylvania town.
Palmerton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $256K for a typical one, or 3 years of the Allentown metro’s $85K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 415th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 80% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 82% of U.S. towns. Palmerton’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile, above both the Pennsylvania town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 16 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score higher on civic life. Palmerton is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Palmerton beats most towns.
Where Palmerton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Palmerton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,168 in 1920, 5,593 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1922 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palmerton. Close and well known come first.
16 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
16 mi Stadium & arenaPPL Center6 mi Ski areaBlue Mountain Resort44 runs · 1,077 ft vertical
23 mi Park & preserveLehigh River
8 mi MuseumAsa Packer Mansion
16 mi State parkHickory Run State ParkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lehigh River: The original uploader was Malepheasant at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Asa Packer Mansion: Chris18240 (talk), Public domain · Hickory Run State Park: Mtruch, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palmerton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Palmerton.
Palmerton is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
For Palmerton, that is below Pennsylvania’s towns (8.2%) and close to U.S. towns (4.3%). 4.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Palmerton Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 19 |
| 2. Palmerton Borough Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Palmerton Area SD. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| S S Palmer El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–6 | Grades 2–6 | 399 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 7.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 64% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 48 to 29 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Palmerton is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Palmerton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $479 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1983, 34 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palmerton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 2,367 in 2013 to 1,661.
Most working residents leave Palmerton for work: only 10% work in town. 16% of Palmerton residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Palmerton fell to 1,661 in 2023, 706 fewer than in 2013.
| Palmerton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Palmerton beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 20% of adults smoke cigarettes in Palmerton.
| Palmerton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Palmerton | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.5% | 5.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 7.7% |
| More smokers | 19.9% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Palmerton has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Palmerton home is worth about $256,000, about the same as a year ago, 11% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Palmerton’s median rent is $931 a month.
| Palmerton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $931 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Palmerton
About 7 of every 100 Palmerton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
8 notable people were born in Palmerton.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Palmerton is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Palmerton had a population of 5,593. Palmerton is located 18.9 miles (30.4 km) northwest of Allentown and 86.6 miles (139.4 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Palmerton.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmerton | #415 | B+ | B+ | A− | B | C |
| Lower Towamensing Township | #715 | B− | B | — | B | C+ |
| East Penn Township | #869 | C | B | — | B− | B− |
| Bowmanstown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lower Towamensing Township and East Penn Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Bowmanstown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Palmerton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Palmerton grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #415 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
8 notable people were born here, including Jane Jensen and Bill Mlkvy.
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