Palmer is a very small coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 4,578 people and five constituent neighborhoods, Palmer is the 14th largest community in Alaska.

Unlike some cities, Palmer isn't mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Palmer are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Palmer is a city of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Palmer who work in office and administrative support jobs (15.68%), sales jobs (11.44%), and management occupations (8.25%).

Palmer is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The city's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Palmer's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One of the nice things about Palmer is that is it nautical, meaning that parts of the city are somewhat historic and on the ocean, or touch tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

In Palmer, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 39.31 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

Palmer is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

Palmer Information and Demographics

The percentage of adults in Palmer who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 14.96%: 14.50% of the adults in Palmer have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Palmer in 2000 was $17,203, which is lower middle income relative to Alaska, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $68,812 for a family of four.

Palmer is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Palmer home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Palmer is White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Palmer include German, Irish, English, Italian, Russian, Norwegian, and Swedish.

The most common language spoken in Palmer is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Russian.