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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-PALMER-TX · Palmer, TX 2,449 pop · income 69th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Palmer
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Palmer on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Louisville · lowest
50,214
Louisville · lowest
50,214 median HH income
32.5% of the leader · rank #1
Wilsonville · near
87,371
Wilsonville · near
87,371 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #2
Santa Nella · near
87,375
Santa Nella · near
87,375 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #3
South Holland · near
87,378
South Holland · near
87,378 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #4
Palmer · this city
87,379
Palmer · this city
87,379 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #5
Fultonville · near
87,386
Fultonville · near
87,386 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #6
Sag Harbor · highest
154,583
Sag Harbor · highest
154,583 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Palmer on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,449.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Palmer - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Palmer lands in the 69th percentile for household income and the 93rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
69th
percentile, household income
44th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
93rd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Palmer, TX
Texas's Palmer is a small town, with 2,449 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Palmer households earn a median of $87,379 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.2%. Palmer's housing stock carries a median value of $203,400, and the median resident age is 31.4 years. 13.5% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 69.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 10 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Slowing), down 17% from five years earlier. Palmer reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 307.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Texas tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Texas at 97.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,149 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Texas run around $223, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Palmer's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Palmer, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Palmer?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 85.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +226 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +9.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 10 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Palmer?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Which cities make useful reference points for Palmer?
Within Texas, the closest population matches are Sheldon (2,449 residents, $72,937 income); Tahoka (2,455 residents, $52,576 income); Junction (2,439 residents, $51,667 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Rockwell City, IA (2,449 residents); Janesville, MN (2,449 residents); Sag Harbor, NY (2,449 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Palmer?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 307.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 87% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
268.8
Violent rate
38.4
Total reported rate
307.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 13.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
3
Bachelor's degree+
13.5%
Poverty estimate
4.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 4.2% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
C+
City profile score · Palmer, TX
61/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Violent crime A
38 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B
4.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$87,379
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living C-
97.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Palmer profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 87/100 (A) · 38 /100k
Poverty rate: 71/100 (B) · 4.2%
Household income: 67/100 (B-) · $87,379
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 16/100 (F) · 13.5%
Where Palmer sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Palmer's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Palmer highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Palmer, TX (this city): home $203,400, crime 307/100k
Janesville, MN : home $194,400, crime 523/100k
Tahoka, TX : home $113,400, crime 409/100k
Junction, TX : home $146,100, crime 508/100k
Italy, TX : home $148,200, crime 1,037/100k
Jonestown, TX : home $475,300, crime 2,060/100k
Pantego, TX : home $336,200, crime 2,850/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Palmer compare to other US cities?
Here's how Palmer stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income69% higher than other cities
Home value44% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety93% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Texas and the picture shifts: Palmer ranks #50 of 624 Texas cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Palmer against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Texas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Texas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Palmer near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Palmer ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Palmer only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#361 of 1,520
76th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#548 of 1,505
64th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#1,190 of 1,663
28th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,053 of 1,663
36th percentile in Texas
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Texas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
69th percentile nationally for median household income · 93rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Palmer's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Palmer's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Palmer's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$203,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 56% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Palmer's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,108 of 15,516
More affordable than 80% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,863 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.3×, Palmer sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,108 of 15,516 and #2,863 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$87,379Palmer, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Palmer, TX median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Palmer, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,449
Median Income
$87,379
Median Home Value
$203,400
Median Age
31.4
Poverty Rate
4.2%
Labor force participation
69.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
307.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
38.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
268.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Palmer's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,418 residents
2021
2,469 residents
2022
2,497 residents
2023
2,568 residents
2024
2,615 residents
2025
2,644 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
10
housing units authorized
Single-Family
10
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
12
12
0
$2.8M
2020
13
13
0
$3.1M
2021
15
15
0
$3.5M
2022
11
11
0
$2.6M
2023
11
11
0
$2.6M
2024
10
10
0
$2.4M
Permit volume decreased 17% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
85.7%
Carpool
6.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.2%
Work from Home
7.7%
Based on 1,241 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Texas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Texas at $223 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Texas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Palmer. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Texas's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Palmer is $1,149/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Texas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Texas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Palmer sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Palmer compares to similar-size Texas cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.