Village · Wayne County, New York

Palmyra, New York

Palmyra is a village in Wayne County, New York, part of the Rochester, NY metro area. It has 3,287 residents. Palmyra, New York has a quality-of-life score of 53 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,288 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #667 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), unemployment rate (low) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), new business applications (low) and primary care physicians (low).

53Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,288 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #667 of 859 in NY
Population: 3,287 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,440.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 3656187

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety82#2,887/15,637
Economy51#7,668/15,631
Housing45#8,310/14,977
Health62#5,968/15,609
Healthcare17#12,951/15,650
Environment96#573/15,453
Education50#7,793/15,649
Infrastructure34#10,368/15,650
Community43#8,904/15,651
Leisure & amenities40#9,445/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Palmyra, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Wayne County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Students per teacher · low10.2×
97/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsWayne County value
Unemployment rate · low0.7%
94/100New York 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Hot days · low3 days
91/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWayne County value
Median Air Quality Index · low33
91/100New York 402025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWayne County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
90/100New York 4.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Property crime rate · low531 /100k
88/100New York 1,575 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureWayne County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high3.23%
0/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New business applications · low6.7 /1k
1/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWayne County value
Primary care physicians · low23 /100k
7/100New York 83 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWayne County value
Comfortable days · low23.0%
8/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWayne County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100New York 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWayne County value
Preventable hospital stays · high3,956 /100k
10/100New York 2,733 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWayne County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
24.5% (2015-2019) → 4.1% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.0% (2015-2019) → 88.3% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
47.3% (2015-2019) → 39.2% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.613 (2015-2019) → 0.377 (2020-2024)
−38%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Unemployment rateImproving
6.3% (2015-2019) → 0.7% (2020-2024)
−5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
15.0% (2015-2019) → 10.4% (2020-2024)
−4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Palmyra, New York improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Inequality−0.2360.613 → 0.377
Broadband+17 points71.0% → 88.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Palmyra, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.7 min2015-2019	22.6 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	60%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.2%2015-2019	25.5%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	71.0%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	85%
Effective property tax rate	3.62%2015-2019	3.23%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	83%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	92.3%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.6132015-2019	0.3772020-2024	−0.236	Improved	100%
Median household income	$60,5002015-2019	$64,9832020-2024	+7.4%	Within the margin of error	14%
Poverty rate	15.0%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent as share of income	29.0%2015-2019	25.9%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent-burdened households	47.3%2015-2019	39.2%2020-2024	−8 points	Within the margin of error	79%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Palmyra, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Palmyra, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Palmyra, New York itself moved +12.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,287 residents (±16)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,489 households (±148)

Palmyra, New York
New York share

Under $25k20%†294
$25k–50k16%†244
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,489 households (±148)

Palmyra, New York
New York share

Own50%745
Rent50%744

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,645 workers (±184)

Palmyra, New York
New York share

Drive alone81%1,327
Carpool11%†185
Public transit0.7%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Rochester, NY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Wayne County, the county holding most of Palmyra's residents.

Wayne County has 1,673 employer establishments, 184 for every 10,000 residents (0.74× the US rate of 248; 0.67× New York's), with 19,614 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,564. The Census Bureau also counts 5,436 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,673; 5,436 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 184; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 19,614
Average annual pay: $51,564; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Wayne County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	181	20	1.29×More than typical	944	$67,572	495
Restaurants and other eating places	128	14.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,482	$21,305	18
Construction of buildings	89	9.8	1.30×More than typical	296	$52,970	169
Services to buildings and dwellings	89	9.8	1.46×More than typical	231	$48,100	349
Ambulatory health care services	70	7.7	0.37×Fewer than typical	628	$51,131	206
Limited-service restaurants	63	6.9	0.87×About typical	875	$21,467	9
Landscaping services	62	6.8	1.95×More than typical	119	$68,546	148
Building equipment contractors	59	6.5	1.08×About typical	357	$61,280	97
Religious organizations	59	6.5	1.17×About typical	181	$17,287	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	58	6.4	1.27×More than typical	205	$39,854	103
Full-service restaurants	51	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	559	$20,499	8
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	45	5	3.11×More than typical	506	$53,401	23

Rank places for an industry Open Wayne County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 90,721 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $481 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Palmyra, New York: $0.15 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $481
Per resident: $0.15; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$481100%

Top recipients

NEW ERA CONTRACT SALES INC$37077%
EHB SUPPLY$11123%

Spending by fiscal year

8.6KFY2017
11.6KFY2018
3.6KFY2019
255.8FY2020
282.8FY2021
37FY2022
142.2FY2023
481.1FY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$37077%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$58.6412%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$52.4811%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Palmyra, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Palmyra, New York's figures are part of those of Wayne County, NY ($24.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Palmyra is mostly in Wayne County.

See federal money in Wayne County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Palmyra, New York is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Claudia TenneyR-NY-24 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Wayne County78100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Rochester, NY83

Other cities and towns in Wayne County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3656187

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends