Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Pennsylvania.
Palmyra grades A− overall, 308th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 90% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation and natural-hazard risk is low. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $77K. A typical home there costs about $349K, 4.5 years of the Lebanon metro’s $78K median household income. Palmyra has 1 place on the National Register. Palmyra’s average trip to work is 20 minutes, below both Pennsylvania’s towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Palmyra is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Palmyra beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Pine Street El Sch | 1–5 | 342 |
| Forge Road El Sch | 1–5 | 341 |
| Northside El Sch | 1–5 | 229 |
Landis Shoe Company Building
Census counts: 531 in 1880, 7,830 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Palmyra is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palmyra. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
31 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
4 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
4 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World
4 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Arena40 mi Theme parkKnoebels Amusement ResortHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hershey's Chocolate World: Phillyfan0419, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hersheypark Arena: Hersheyarena4ever at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palmyra, 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 Palmyra.
Its public schools are run by Palmyra Area SD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmyra Area MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 820 | B+ |
| Pine Street El SchTop results in townGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 342 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palmyra.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 3,919 working residents takes 19.7 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave Palmyra for work: only 6% work in town. 20% of workers work from home in Palmyra. The top destinations are Derry Township (23%), Harrisburg (4%) and North Londonderry Township (4%).
| Palmyra | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
58% of Palmyra households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Palmyra | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,084 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Palmyra has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Palmyra | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.1 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 21% | 18% |
56% women, 44% men
About 79 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Palmyra | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.4% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.7% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.6% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.8% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.7% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.5% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.6% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.9% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Palmyra's reported crime rate is well below Pennsylvania's. The violent crime rate in Palmyra is 0.4 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Palmyra | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.9 | 1.8 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 6.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.7 | 13.1 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
Palmyra beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Palmyra | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Palmyra | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.2% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 18.1% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Palmyra | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Firemans Park | — | 9 |
| 2. Southeast Family Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Heritage Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Palmyra
About 3 of every 100 Palmyra residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Palmyra’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Palmyra.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Palmyra (Pennsylvania German: Pallemschteddel) is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,807 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Palmyra.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmyra | #308 | A− | B− | — | A | C+ |
| North Londonderry Township | #190 | A | C− | A− | A | B+ |
| Palmdale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Derry Township | #265 | A | C− | B | A | A |
Palmyra reports no FBI crime data of its own. Palmdale isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Palmyra with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Palmyra grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #308 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including John M. Thome and Brendan Woods.
