Palmer offers small‑town Texas character with quick big‑city access, sitting just off I‑45 south of Dallas for an easy drive to job centers in Dallas, Ennis, and Waxahachie. The town’s blend of newer subdivisions, long‑time neighborhoods, and surrounding acreage appeals to buyers who want extra space, a close‑knit community feel, and everyday conveniences nearby without paying the higher prices found in many inner‑ring Dallas suburbs.
Palmer sits between Ferris and Ennis on Interstate 45 with the lowest combined tax rate of any Ellis County city on this site — and no PID on any subdivision. The most-quoted rate table in the region gets Palmer wrong by more than a thousand pounds a year.
$300K–$350K
The town's principal modern subdivision, built in phases from about 2003 through 2024. Brick and stone, mostly single storey, roughly 1,500 to 2,200 square feet on fifth-acre lots along Cherry Point Drive and Palmer View.
And no homeowners association — increasingly rare in a new build.
Value end
Dating to about 1984, with midsize homes averaging around 2,000 square feet — the generation between the old town and the Meadows, and consistently among the better value in Palmer.
Acre lots
The one production builder genuinely active inside Palmer. Plans from about 1,812 to 2,671 square feet on acre lots, priced from around $447,000 — a different product entirely from the quarter-acre tracts going up either side of town.
But check the sign against the map. Despite the name and a Palmer postal address, this community is zoned to Waxahachie ISD, not Palmer ISD — a different district and a higher school rate.
Value end
Around Jefferson, Dallas and Main streets sits the housing the railway and the cotton built. About one home in eight here predates 1940 — a genuinely historic stock for a town this size.
Wide range
Most of the postcode outside the few platted subdivisions is open country — tracts along Epps Road, Ebenezer Road, FM 879 and FM 85 averaging well over two acres, many under agricultural valuation.
Verify water, septic and electric supply individually out here rather than assuming.
Swipe or drag sideways to see them all.
Palmer's combined rate is about 1.967 percent — city at 0.6669, Palmer ISD at roughly 1.0063, Ellis County at 0.2937.
That puts it below every Ellis County city covered on this site: cheaper than Waxahachie at 2.05, Midlothian at 2.07, Ferris at 2.089, Red Oak at 2.10 and Ennis at 2.167. On a $350,000 home that is about $700 a year less than Ennis.
Now the correction. A widely circulated regional rate table lists Palmer ISD at 0.6169 — which is identical to the Waxahachie ISD figure in the same table, and is almost certainly a copying error. The district's own adopted rate is around 1.0063.
That table's printed Palmer total understates the bill by roughly $1,363 a year on a $350,000 home. Do not quote it, and do not let a lender quote it either.
Worth saying plainly after the last two towns. No Palmer subdivision carries a public improvement district, a municipal utility district or a reinvestment zone.
Compare that with Ferris, which carries two PIDs at Shaw Creek Ranch and Woodstone, and Ennis, which has them on its newer communities. Those assessments sit on top of the tax bill and are not reduced by your homestead exemption.
The one extra line here is Ellis County Emergency Services District 9 at ten cents, funding fire and ambulance — taking the rate to about 2.067 percent where it applies. Confirm whether it applies to your specific address, since the city also runs a volunteer fire department.
Set expectations honestly. Palmer has only a handful of platted subdivisions — the Meadows, Palmer Estates, and a smaller Palmer Hill — with most other housing either old town stock or open acreage.
And there is no master-planned community here. Ferris has 830 homes going in at Bluff Springs; Palmer has one production builder on acre lots. Property portals advertising well over a hundred communities in Palmer are counting a radius across half the southern metro, not this town.
Whether that is a drawback or the entire appeal depends on what you are looking for.
Neighborhood names, lot sizes, builder details and price ranges come from the City of Palmer, the Ellis Appraisal District, builder materials and listing portals as observed; price ranges, plan sizes and phase status move constantly, so treat them as indicative and ask for a current comparative market analysis. Palmer lies wholly within Ellis County, unlike neighbouring Ferris which straddles the Ellis and Dallas county line. Tax figures use published rates, are shown before exemptions and are illustrations rather than quotes; rates reset annually. The components used are a city rate of 0.666947, Palmer Independent School District at approximately 1.0063, and Ellis County including lateral road at 0.293662, giving a combined figure of approximately 1.967 percent. A correction is made here deliberately, because the error is consequential: a widely circulated regional property tax rate guide lists the Palmer Independent School District rate as 0.616900, a figure identical to the Waxahachie Independent School District entry in the same table and almost certainly a transcription error. The district's own adopted rate is approximately 1.0063, with a prior-year figure of 1.05020. The guide's printed Palmer total of approximately 1.5775 percent therefore understates an annual bill by roughly $1,363 on a $350,000 home and should not be relied upon. Ellis County Emergency Services District 9 levies an additional 0.100000 where it applies, taking the combined figure to approximately 2.067 percent; whether that district applies to a particular address could not be confirmed, since the City of Palmer also operates a volunteer fire department, and this should be verified by address with the Ellis Appraisal District. No public improvement district, municipal utility district or tax increment reinvestment zone was identified affecting any Palmer residential subdivision, which distinguishes Palmer from Ferris and Ennis; this finding is strongly supported by the county taxing unit roster and subdivision records but absolute confirmation would require a direct query of the state special purpose district database, and buyers should still confirm for a specific parcel. Ellis County residents pay no community college levy, because Navarro College levies property tax only within Navarro County. The state school homestead exemption rose to $140,000 in November 2025, with a combined $200,000 for over-65 and disabled owners; local optional exemption amounts adopted by the City of Palmer, Ellis County and Palmer ISD were not individually confirmed and should be verified with the appraisal district. Sources conflict on the year of incorporation, variously given as 1890, 1902 and 1928, and on median household income and median home value, where published figures range widely depending on whether they reflect assessed values or current asking prices; both ranges are noted rather than resolved. Of the production builders checked by name, only one was confirmed actively building within Palmer; aggregator sites report well over a hundred communities in Palmer because they cover a wide radius rather than the city limits. A caution specific to new construction here: the acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer carries a Palmer name and a Palmer mailing address but is zoned to Waxahachie Independent School District rather than Palmer Independent School District, which carries a materially higher school tax rate; community names are not a reliable guide to school district in this area and the district must be confirmed in writing for any specific lot. School district, floodplain status and utility service must be verified by address. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Palmer is a town of 2,400 with about seventeen independent businesses, most of them on one downtown block. Short list, but two of them are genuinely worth the drive from anywhere in the county.
545 Loma Linda Rd · 817-513-4939
The best story in Palmer, and it keeps getting better. A wooded ten-acre wedding venue with on-site lodging, reportedly on land once owned by George Jones.
It also has resident llamas and horses, and something billed as a beer burro — which is exactly what it sounds like. Couples book it from across the metro.
110 W Jefferson St · 469-527-1063
The highest-rated place in Palmer by a clear margin. Birria, chilaquiles, pozole, gorditas and flautas, open from nine in the morning until nine at night.
106 N Main St · 469-527-1051
Pizza, pasta, calzones and sandwiches with a salad bar, and a weekday lunch buffet from eleven to two — the sort of thing a small town keeps because it works. The signature is the Milano's Supreme.
Palmer · 972-535-6767
Two independent pizzerias in a town of 2,400, which tells you something. Locals reckon it beats the chains hands down, and the burgers get named as often as the pizza.
102 N Dallas St, Ste 104 · 972-449-2406
Open since 2007, and the closest thing Palmer has to a third place — coffee and pastries at the front, local crafts and gifts at the back.
In a town without a bookshop or a boutique, this one covers a lot of ground on its own.
102 N Dallas St, Ste 100 · 972-449-2326
Five in the morning until noon, with a drive-thru window — which matters when the school run and the commute both start early. The maple ones get the mentions.
416 W Jefferson St · 972-845-3458
The independent alternative — groceries, convenience, wine and fuel from half five in the morning. And a live fish counter, which is not something most towns this size can claim.
428 N Dallas St · 972-449-2010
Listed honestly rather than as an independent — this is a Brookshire brand, not a local business.
But it answers the question buyers actually ask: yes, Palmer has a proper grocery store with produce and a deli, open seven to nine daily, with senior discounts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Locals call it the only grocery for miles.
W Jefferson St
Mexican-style ice cream, paletas and fresh fruit on the downtown block — the summer evening destination in a town with no cinema.
Second Congregational Church
A community thrift shop run as a mission of the Second Congregational Church, open Fridays and Saturdays from ten until two. Narrow hours, so plan around them.
121 FM 813
Worth knowing about even if you never attend. A cowboy church that pulls people in from well outside Palmer — and in a town this size, that makes it a genuine social hub rather than just a congregation.
Dallas St & the I-45 frontage
Interstate frontage brings trade. Larry's Tire Shop and Team Tire in town, plus JOBRI Truck Repair, Bill's Auto, Tow Pro and 5PG Truck Parts out on the service road — and Blackland Home Inspections, useful to know locally.
Honestly: Palmer has no hospital, no cinema, no bookshop, no boutique, no butcher, no farmers market and no antique mall. The commercial base is essentially one downtown block plus the interstate frontage.
What it does have is a proper grocery store, two independent pizzerias, a top-rated taqueria, a café that has lasted since 2007, and a wedding venue people drive across the metro for. For 2,400 people, that is a working core.
For everything else the interstate is right there. Ennis is eight miles south, Waxahachie eleven miles west for county business and larger retail, Red Oak north, and Dallas twenty-seven miles up I-45.
Verified September 2026. Roughly seventeen independent businesses were confirmed in Palmer, which is an honest count for a town of around 2,400; national and regional chains on the interstate frontage are deliberately excluded from that count. One entry is listed despite not being independent: the town's full grocery store operates under a brand belonging to a Texas regional grocery company rather than being a single-location local business, and is included because whether a small town has a grocery with produce and a deli is a question buyers genuinely ask. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides heavily in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska, a substantially larger and better-documented city, and also with Palmer in Massachusetts, Colorado and Nebraska, with a research station in Antarctica, with a famous golfer and the drink named after him, and with the surname generally; every entry here was verified against Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Neighbouring Ferris, Ennis, Waxahachie, Bristol, Garrett and Red Oak results were excluded unless explicitly labelled; in particular, two establishments that appear prominently in searches for this area, a steakhouse and dancehall on the interstate frontage and a winery, are located in Ennis and Bristol respectively and are therefore not listed here. Several details could not be fully confirmed and are flagged rather than guessed: the operating status of the wedding venue carries a genuine source conflict, with one review platform marking it closed while active social media and multiple 2026 wedding reviews indicate it is operating, and the weight of evidence favours open; the current status of the independent market rests on aggregator data without owner confirmation; a diner listed on the city's own visitor site could not be independently verified for address or hours; and founding years are unpublished for most Palmer businesses, with only the café at 2007 and the venue at 2018 confirmed. Minor address discrepancies between north and south Dallas Street appear across listing platforms. Business listings reflect existence and category rather than an audited count, and categories stated as absent mean no reliable Palmer source was found rather than that something is impossible. Businesses listed are for general local reference and are not endorsements; I receive no compensation from any business named. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
One Dollar for a Railway, a Doctor Who Never Moved Here, and Three Churches on One Road
The land began as a Mexican grant — roughly 50,000 acres to Raphael de la Pena in October 1834, taking in the future Palmer and running east to the Trinity.
Settlers followed from the 1840s. Alfred Anthony arrived in 1850 with his wife and son, and became the town's builder.
One arrival ended badly and left a lasting mark. Hans Smith, who settled south of Red Oak Creek, was robbed and murdered returning from selling his cotton in Houston.
His widow, Nancy Owen Smith, donated the family burial ground — which is Smith Cemetery today, on a hill above the valley, where memorial services have been held ever since.
Peter Stout settled on Grove Creek, and the Stacks family arrived in 1855.
The founding transaction is almost comically cheap. Alfred Anthony owned all the land Palmer now stands on, and gave the Houston and Texas Central its right of way — the local record says in exchange for one dollar.
The line had reached Corsicana in 1871 and Dallas in 1872, running north through Garrett, Palmer, Trumbull and Ferris.
The railway reached the town proper in 1874, bringing a depot and a post office. The first buildings went up the same year: the Crawford house, which became a boarding house, a general merchandise store and a grocery.
Palmer was a station and a shipping point — never a junction or a division point, unlike Ennis down the line, which won the roundhouse and the machine shops.
The steam line is now part of Union Pacific, and the trains still run.
The town is named for D. S. Palmer, a Houston physician and a stockholder in the railway company — and, as far as the record shows, a man who never lived here.
The local account has him arriving at the townsite in 1872 and giving a speech stirring enough that the town was named for him on the spot. Whether that is history or folklore, it is what Palmer has always told itself.
Sources differ slightly on who he was — the state historical association and the city both say a physician and stockholder, while an older county history calls him simply a doctor for the railroad, and the local version calls him Judge Palmer. Most likely the same man, remembered differently.
It is the same pattern as next door. Ferris is named for a Waxahachie judge who negotiated its railroad land deal and never lived there either. Two towns, two absentee namesakes, eight miles apart.
Growth was fast. Sixty-three residents in 1880 became 250 by 1885, with twenty-eight businesses — a hotel, a bank, a school, and two steam gristmills and cotton gins.
The county around it was doing extraordinarily well. The 1913 national ginner's report called Ellis County the banner cotton county of the world.
Palmer ran two gins of its own and banked its own money. A private Citizens Bank opened in 1882, and after a 1930 merger became Commercial State Bank — a name still attached to the town.
There was a weekly newspaper by 1896, the Palmer Times, later joined by the Palmer Rustler.
By the eve of the First World War the town held about 750 people, four churches, two banks and more than forty businesses. For a place of three square miles, that is a working town.
Less famous than Ferris, but the same clay. Robert Smith founded the Palmer Press Brick Company in 1902, and its bricks were stamped simply PALMER.
In 1929 it bought out the Standard Brick Company and was renamed Barron Brick, supplying building brick across Ellis County.
Both towns sat on the same Blackland Prairie clay, and both exploited it. Ferris, eight miles north, called itself the Brick Capital of the Nation with six plants at its peak. Palmer was the smaller sibling — but it was in the same business, on the same seam.
The company's corporate life ran until 1973, when its charter was forfeited. Ferris's last yard closed five years later.
Bricks stamped PALMER and STANDARD still turn up among collectors. And as at Ferris, there is no historical marker anywhere for the industry — the thing that employed the town has no plaque.
Worth knowing, because nothing like it exists now. An electric interurban ran from Dallas to Corsicana straight through Palmer — Hutchins, Wilmer, Ferris, Trumbull, Palmer, Garrett, Ennis and on south.
It began around 1913 as the Southern Traction Company and became the Texas Electric Railway in 1917. For nearly thirty years a town of a few hundred had scheduled electric passenger service to Dallas.
The branch was discontinued in 1941, and the town has had no public transport since — which is still true today.
The local history notes the tracks still exist in Palmer. The infrastructure outlasted the service by eighty years.
A genuinely unusual arrangement. Before they built their own, Palmer's Methodists, Baptists, Disciples of Christ and Cumberland Presbyterians all worshipped in the same building.
In 1880 three of those congregations formally agreed to build a shared sanctuary on Dallas Street — the Palmer Union Church.
The First Christian congregation had organised in 1868, meeting in a one-room schoolhouse with the help of Robert "Uncle Bob" Smith and his wife Lavisa; it built its own sanctuary in 1898 and the present brick church in 1940. The First Baptist congregation organised in November 1873 under Rev. T. H. Durham.
Both hold state historical markers today. Two of the four markers in Palmer are for churches that once shared a roof.
This one is told honestly, including what could not be found. Three historically Black congregations sit on a single short road in Palmer — Greater Edwards Chapel AME, founded in 1916, Lucille Missionary Baptist, and Wade Chapel Church of God in Christ, at 107, 105 and 101 Palmyra Road.
Three congregations clustered on one street is the signature of a distinct Black neighbourhood in a Blackland cotton town, and they are all still there.
What could not be found is the school. Neighbouring Ferris has a documented record — the Dunbar School, from 1919, named in 1935 for a teacher called Lucy Mae McDonald, consolidated under court order in 1970. Palmer almost certainly had an equivalent.
No record of it could be located. That is a gap in the archive rather than an absence in the history, and it is worth saying so rather than skipping the era.
A small piece of the town's education history with a marker to its name. The Grady School was established in 1895 to serve the Farrar family's children and grew into a community rural school.
The name travelled a long way. Mrs Farrar named it for Henry W. Grady, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution — a national newspaper figure, memorialised in a one-room schoolhouse in Ellis County.
A second building went up in 1919 south of Red Oak Creek. It closed in the late 1920s, its pupils transferring to neighbouring communities.
Palmer ISD today runs an elementary, a middle and a high school on Bulldog Way, classified as rural.
Palmer carries four state historical markers — the two churches, the site of the Grady School, and the Harkey-Payne House.
The house is the one to look at. Built around 1870 by a carpenter and blacksmith named D. H. Harkey, it was bought in 1896 by a Dr J. M. Johnson, who added the second storey and the colonial revival columns that give it its present face.
A doctor's improvements to a blacksmith's house — and one of the oldest buildings in town.
Four markers is more than Ferris manages with three, though both towns share the same omission: neither has one for the brick industry.
The hard chapter. Palmer peaked at 758 residents in 1930, then fell for four decades straight — 697 by 1940, and roughly 601 by 1970.
Four things drained it at once. Cotton mechanised and then declined. The interurban stopped in 1941. The brick company wound down toward its 1973 forfeiture. And rural Texas emptied toward the cities.
What was lost is easier to feel in the detail. Palmer in 1950 had a cinema, a drugstore, three groceries, a depot with train service — and a carnival every autumn.
All of that is gone. Any honest account of this town has to include the forty years when it was shrinking, because it explains why the place looks the way it does now.
Then it turned. 1,187 by 1980, 1,659 by 1990, 2,000 by 2010 and 2,393 at the 2020 census — a town that had lost people for forty years quadrupled in fifty.
The cause was simple: Interstate 45 made Palmer commutable to Dallas.
And the corridor is now moving fast, though mostly just outside Palmer's limits. A 5,200-acre ranch north of here sold in April 2025 with plans for data centres and up to 5,000 homes, in the neighbouring town's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Nine miles west in Red Oak, a data centre campus reached $2.65 billion in financing by mid-2026. The proposed Loop 9 would run across the top of all of it.
Palmer's position is unusual: close enough to benefit, far enough that the building is happening somewhere else. Whether that lasts is the open question here.
Compiled from the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas, the Texas Almanac, the Texas Historical Commission marker atlas and the Historical Marker Database, a family-compiled local history hosted by the county genealogical project, the City of Palmer, Palmer Independent School District, state corporate records, United States Census counts and estimates, and regional reporting. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides severely in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska, a substantially larger city with its own colony history, museum and state fair which dominates any search combining Palmer with history; also with Palmer in Massachusetts, Colorado and Nebraska, with a research station in Antarctica, with a famous golfer, and with the surname generally. Every item here was verified against Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Where sources conflict both versions are reported rather than resolved. The year of incorporation is disputed four ways and cannot be settled here: the state historical association and the City of Palmer both give 1890, which is the best supported; the local family-compiled history states the town was incorporated in 1874 with John A. Payne as mayor; and secondary sources give 1902 and 1928. The 1890 date is used where one is needed. Accounts of the town's namesake differ in detail, describing him variously as a Houston physician and railway stockholder, as a doctor for the railroad, and as a judge; these most likely refer to the same person remembered differently, and no record places him as a resident of the town named for him. The right-of-way donation is recorded in the local history as having been made in exchange for one dollar, dated to 1869, with the railway reaching the town in 1874. No historical marker commemorating the brick industry could be found in Palmer, and none exists in neighbouring Ferris either; the Barron Brick Company's state charter was forfeited in 1973, but employee numbers, the exact date the plant ceased production and the present condition of the site could not be established. No segregation-era school for Black students in Palmer could be documented, in contrast to neighbouring Ferris where the record is detailed. The concentration of three historically Black congregations on a single road strongly indicates a distinct community and very likely such a school; this is recorded as a gap in the available archive rather than as evidence that none existed. No tornado, flood, fire or industrial accident specific to Palmer could be verified; the county's deadliest recorded tornado was in 1942 and the severe 1930 outbreak struck Ennis and Frost, with Palmer not named among the affected communities. No notable individuals specifically from Palmer, Ellis County could be verified, as searches were overwhelmed by unrelated people and places sharing the name. Population figures are Census counts and estimates, and recent estimates vary between sources. Development plans described for the corridor are announced projections rather than commitments, and the major projects referenced lie outside Palmer's city limits. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
There Is No Town Festival — and the City Closes for Homecoming Instead
Palmer has no signature town festival. Nothing equivalent to the Brick Festival eight miles north in Ferris, or the National Polka Festival eight miles south in Ennis. The city's published calendar lists council meetings, not celebrations.
What Palmer has instead is a school — and the town organises itself around it to a degree most places do not.
Here is how much it matters: the City of Palmer closes its offices early for homecoming festivities. Not many municipalities do that for a school event.
There is a parade, lining up from the high school to the softball field, with the Bulldog Band, the Color Guard and the Belles.
In a town without a festival, this is the day everybody turns out. If you want to see whether Palmer feels like a community before you buy here, come to homecoming rather than driving through on a Tuesday.
A community event handing out school supplies with family activities, supported by local donations through the city. Small, but genuinely useful — and the closest thing Palmer has to a summer gathering.
A stadium seating about 2,000 in a town of 2,400 — which means most of Palmer can fit in it. There is a "Meet the Bulldogs" pep rally each August before the season opens.
For 2026 through 2028 the Bulldogs play 3A Division I, in a district with Grandview, Groesbeck, Keene, Mexia, West and Whitney. Fourteen playoff appearances and no state title — an honest record.
The one thing here that pulls people in from outside. Arena play days, mounted shooting and trail rides, drawing riders from thirty to fifty miles away.
Set expectations correctly: these are participatory events rather than a ticketed rodeo. No marquee spectator rodeo or ranch rodeo could be confirmed.
It also runs a back-to-school prayer walk through the Palmer ISD campuses and a Christmas Eve candlelight service — which in a town this size makes it as much a community institution as a congregation.
Worth naming so nobody plans around it. Arrowwood is a private wedding and events venue, not a public festival host — ten wooded acres people book from across the metro, but not somewhere you turn up on a Saturday.
A small but telling one. No active Palmer, Texas chamber of commerce could be found — and the prominent Palmer chamber that turns up online is in Alaska. Businesses here lean on neighbouring chambers.
Palmer's saving grace on this front is geography. Eight miles south is Ennis, running the National Polka Festival — nearly sixty years old, drawing up to 50,000 people across three fraternal halls — plus the state's official bluebonnet trails each April.
Eight miles north is Ferris and its Brick Festival, celebrating the industry both towns shared.
And eleven miles west is Waxahachie, the county seat, with the Scarborough renaissance festival each spring, the Gingerbread Trail of Victorian homes, and the county museum.
Dallas is twenty-seven miles up the interstate for everything else. Palmer has no festival of its own, but it is surrounded by three good ones inside fifteen minutes.
Named plainly rather than padded. No Fourth of July celebration, Christmas parade or tree lighting, fall festival, trunk or treat, Easter event, Juneteenth or Martin Luther King observance, National Night Out, farmers market, car show or rodeo could be confirmed as a recurring Palmer event. The city's published calendar shows council meetings.
That does not mean nothing happens. Small observances leave no trace online, and the two events that do exist surfaced through news and social media rather than any official listing. Ring the city or the school district for current dates.
One thing Palmer has lost is worth recording. In 1950 this town had a cinema, three groceries, a train depot — and a carnival every autumn. The carnival is long gone.
So be clear-eyed about what you are buying. Palmer is a quiet town whose social life runs through the school and the church, with three proper festivals within fifteen minutes in either direction. For some buyers that is exactly right.
Dates, times and details shift annually and should be confirmed with the organisers before you plan around them; the City of Palmer and Palmer Independent School District publish current information. A finding is stated plainly here rather than softened: Palmer has no signature annual town festival, heritage day or civic celebration comparable to those in neighbouring towns, and the City of Palmer's published events calendar contains governmental meetings rather than public celebrations. This reflects a genuine absence rather than a failure to locate a listing. Statements that an event does not exist mean no reliable source could be found confirming it as a recurring Palmer event rather than that no observance takes place; specifically, no city-run Fourth of July celebration, Christmas parade or tree lighting, fall festival, trunk or treat, Easter event, Juneteenth observance, Martin Luther King Day observance, National Night Out, farmers market, car show or rodeo could be individually confirmed, and no annual homecoming or heritage event could be verified at any of the town's historically Black congregations. The two community events described surfaced through news and social media rather than official listings, so the town's actual calendar may be modestly larger than what is formally published. No active chamber of commerce for Palmer, Ellis County could be verified; a prominent chamber of that name found online serves Palmer, Alaska and is unrelated. The events at the cowboy church are participatory arena activities rather than a ticketed spectator rodeo, and no marquee rodeo or ranch rodeo was documented. The wedding venue referenced is a private facility rather than a public event host and is listed so that it is not mistaken for one. Athletic records reflect published figures; classification and district alignment change biennially, and no state championship was found for the district. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides severely in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska, whose state fair and chamber of commerce dominate any search combining Palmer with events; also with Palmer in Massachusetts, Colorado and Nebraska, with a research station in Antarctica, with a famous golfer, and with the surname generally. Every item here was verified against Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Events in neighbouring Ennis, Ferris, Waxahachie, Bristol, Garrett and Red Oak were excluded unless explicitly labelled as being outside Palmer; those listed under other towns are included so a buyer understands a realistic regional calendar and should be confirmed with the relevant organiser. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
What to know about Palmer schools:
The number that matters: Palmer ISD levies 1.0063 — and that is confirmed from the district’s own board records, adopted in August 2026. It is among the lowest school rates in the region.
What that saves you: on a $400,000 home, roughly $898 a year less than Ferris or Ennis ISD, $647 less than Waxahachie and $968 less than Venus.
And a correction worth knowing: a widely circulated regional tax table lists Palmer ISD at 0.6169 — the same figure it gives Waxahachie ISD in the same table. That is a copying error. The real rate is 1.0063.
The trap for new-build buyers: the acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer is zoned to Waxahachie ISD, not Palmer ISD, despite the name and the postal address. Never take a community name as proof of district.
Want the full breakdown? Read our complete Palmer schools guide →
Palmer ISD is small — about 1,386 students across three schools on one road. It also graduates more of them than almost any district in the county, and charges less to do it. One warning for new-build buyers is below.
303 Dick St · 972-449-3132
Five full years under one roof, in a building constructed in 2015 — the newest school in town by a distance. Around sixteen percent of pupils are in bilingual programmes.
118 FM 813 · 972-449-3319
Worth understanding before you compare districts. Palmer's middle school covers fifth through eighth — four years in one building, with no separate junior high.
Most districts split those years. Ennis, eight miles south, runs five separate campuses before high school. Palmer runs two.
The argument for it is fewer transitions and a smaller world for a child to learn. The argument against is a ten-year-old sharing a building with a fourteen-year-old. Worth seeing for yourself rather than deciding from a map.
422 W Jefferson St · 972-449-3487
The strongest number on this page. 98.6 percent of the class graduated within four years, against a state figure of 90.3 — and the dropout rate rounds to nothing.
It is also the best-rated campus in the district, and dual credit runs through Navarro College.
The honest counterweight: average SAT around 1020, which is solid rather than exceptional, and Palmer ISD has no early college high school and no P-TECH. The nearest is Waxahachie's Global High.
A small school with about 400 students cannot offer the breadth a large one can. What it offers instead is a fifteen-to-one ratio and very few students slipping through.
Palmer ISD
Worth stating because several districts on this site cannot. Palmer ISD has never been under state intervention, monitoring or conservatorship, and has no record of a failing rating.
The current picture is a B at district level with the high school rated A. The district has held a B across consecutive releases rather than bouncing around.
For a rural district where roughly half of students are economically disadvantaged, that is a genuinely good record — and a stable one, which matters more than a single year's letter.
Palmer ISD
A figure that stands out and is worth naming either way. About 22.4 percent of Palmer students receive special education services, against roughly 13.9 percent statewide.
Read it in two directions. For a family with a child who needs those services, a district identifying and serving them at that rate is an argument in favour — it suggests a school that looks rather than one that overlooks.
For others it is simply context for the ratings. Achieving a B and a 98.6 percent graduation rate while serving that population is harder, not easier.
Gifted and talented runs at about five percent.
Bulldog Stadium
A stadium seating about 2,000 in a town of 2,400 — which means most of Palmer can fit in it on a Friday. Fourteen playoff appearances, no state title, and no final: an honest record.
For 2026 through 2028 the Bulldogs play 3A Division I, in a district with Grandview, Groesbeck, Keene, Mexia, West and Whitney.
The 2025 season ended well but not quite: wins over Madison and Whitesboro, then a 42 to 49 playoff loss to Grandview in November, played up the road at Waxahachie.
Beyond football the district fields track, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, cross country and golf from seventh grade, alongside the Bulldog Band and an active FFA.
FM 878 & Gibson Road
The district is running ten-year facility planning in response to record enrollment — and a developer has offered to donate school land: either two fifteen-acre elementary sites or one thirty-acre middle school site.
The driver is a development area at FM 878 and Gibson Road that could eventually add somewhere between 1,500 and 3,500 homes — in a district currently serving under 1,400 students.
What that means for a buyer: watch the facility plan. Palmer ISD has no recent large bond, unlike Ferris ISD which passed $134.7 million in May 2025.
If Palmer calls one, the low rate that makes this district attractive would narrow toward its neighbours. Check the adopted rate each August.
Nearest options out of town
Stated plainly: no private school and no charter campus operates in Palmer. The nearest charter is in Waxahachie, and faith-based schools cluster in Waxahachie, Ennis and Cedar Hill.
Dual credit runs through Navarro College. One wrinkle worth knowing: Ellis County is not in Navarro's taxing district, so a Palmer resident enrolling there after school pays out-of-district tuition.
Dual credit taken during high school is governed by the district's agreement with the college and is typically low or no cost — but the two things are different, and people confuse them.
South of Red Oak Creek
Palmer's education history has one marked landmark. The Grady School opened in 1895 for a pioneer family's children and was named by Mrs Farrar for the editor of the Atlanta Constitution.
A second building went up in 1919 south of Red Oak Creek; it closed in the late 1920s and carries a state historical marker today.
One gap is named rather than skipped. No segregation-era school for Black children in Palmer could be documented, in contrast to neighbouring Ferris where the record is detailed.
Three historically Black congregations sit on one road here, which strongly suggests such a school existed. That is a gap in the archive, not an absence in the history.
Palmer ISD levies 1.0063 per hundred dollars, adopted unanimously by the board in August 2026, built from 0.71130 for operations and 0.29500 for debt. The prior year was 1.0502.
Against its neighbours that is a real saving. On a $400,000 home, roughly $898 a year less than Ferris or Ennis ISD, $647 less than Waxahachie, and $968 less than Venus.
Only Midlothian comes close among the districts covered here, and it sits $258 higher.
Now the correction, because the wrong figure is in circulation. A widely published regional tax table lists Palmer ISD at 0.6169 — the identical number it gives Waxahachie ISD in the same table. That is a copying error, and the district's own records settle it.
This one costs money and is easy to miss. The acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer is zoned to Waxahachie ISD, not Palmer ISD — despite the name and a Palmer postal address.
That is a school rate of 1.1681 rather than 1.0063, which on a $450,000 home is roughly $728 a year more.
And it works the other way too. Palmer ISD reaches beyond the city, taking in parts of Ennis and Bristol, so some addresses that are not Palmer at all feed these schools.
Never take a subdivision name as proof of district. Pull the parcel on the appraisal district, confirm with the registrar, and get it in writing before you offer.
One, pull the parcel on the Ellis Appraisal District to see exactly which taxing units apply — including whether the emergency services district adds its ten cents.
Two, run the address through the state's school district locator. Three, confirm the campus with Palmer ISD directly on 972-449-3389 — or with Waxahachie, Ferris or Ennis if the locator sends you there.
Four, cross-check the current combined rate with the county tax office rather than a title company flyer.
Four steps, about fifteen minutes, and it settles both your school and your tax bill.
Named rather than glossed. Palmer ISD's bond history could not be documented — the 2015 elementary building implies a bond around then, but that is inference rather than record, and total outstanding debt was not retrievable.
What is confirmed: the debt portion of the rate sits at 0.295, which is above the district's own stated minimum of 0.1449, and the board passed a defeasance resolution in August 2026 to redeem some outstanding obligations.
Second, the district's leadership shows differently across sources, with recent records naming a current superintendent and 2025 material naming a predecessor. Confirm with the district if it matters to you.
Accountability ratings are intentionally not shown on the campus cards. State letter grades change annually and a single year rarely reflects what a campus is like; district and campus results are described above for context because a buyer deserves the real picture. For current ratings use TXschools.gov. Ratings referenced are a district grade of B, scored 87 in the most recent release and 88 in the preceding one, with Palmer High School rated A; domain scores were 87 for student achievement and a B at 87 for school progress. No record of Texas Education Agency intervention, conservatorship, state monitoring or a failing district rating was found for Palmer Independent School District. The Palmer ISD tax rate is confirmed from the district's own board records: a rate of $1.0063 per $100 was adopted unanimously on 19 August 2026 for the 2026-27 year, comprising $0.71130 for maintenance and operations and $0.29500 for interest and sinking, following an adopted rate of $1.0502 for the preceding year comprising $0.7552 and $0.2950. The board additionally found the district's minimum debt service rate to be $0.1449, which the adopted interest and sinking rate exceeds by $0.1501. A correction is made here deliberately because the erroneous figure is widely circulated: a regional property tax rate guide published by a title company lists the Palmer Independent School District rate as 0.616900, a figure identical to the Waxahachie Independent School District entry in the same table and irreconcilable with the district's own adopted rate. It is a transcription error and should not be used; the guide's resulting Palmer combined total is correspondingly understated. District tax comparisons use published school district rates and are shown before exemptions as illustrations rather than quotes; rates reset annually and the state school homestead exemption of $140,000, with a combined $200,000 for over-65 and disabled owners, materially reduces owner-occupant bills. A caution specific to new construction: the acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer carries a Palmer name and a Palmer mailing address but is zoned to Waxahachie Independent School District rather than Palmer Independent School District, which levies a materially higher school rate. Conversely, Palmer Independent School District extends beyond the city limits and includes portions of Ennis and the Bristol community. Community names and mailing addresses are not reliable guides to school district in this area, and the district and campus must be confirmed by parcel with the appraisal district and the district registrar before purchase. Enrollment figures vary between sources and reporting years and are given as approximations; the district reports roughly 1,386 students across three campuses, with an average daily attendance basis of 1,312.73 used for budgeting. Palmer Independent School District operates no early college high school and no P-TECH programme, and no private school or open-enrollment charter campus operates within Palmer; the nearest such options are in Waxahachie and beyond. Ellis County lies outside the Navarro College taxing district, so residents pay out-of-district tuition for direct enrollment; dual credit taken during high school is governed by the district's agreement with the college and is distinct from that. Several items are flagged rather than guessed: Palmer ISD's bond election history could not be documented and total outstanding bonded debt could not be retrieved, the construction of the elementary building in 2015 implies a bond of that period but this is inference rather than record, and the district's current superintendent is recorded differently across sources with recent records and 2025 material naming different individuals. No segregation-era school for Black students in Palmer could be documented despite a determined search, in contrast to neighbouring Ferris where the record is detailed; the concentration of three historically Black congregations on a single road strongly indicates such a community and very likely such a school, and this is recorded as a gap in the available archive rather than as evidence that none existed. "Palmer" collides severely with a chiropractic college, with school districts and high schools in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Georgia and Florida, and with the surname; every item here was verified against Palmer Independent School District, Ellis County, Texas. Athletic classification reflects the current realignment cycle and changes biennially. Facility planning and any land donation described are proposals rather than commitments. School information is provided for general reference only and is not a recommendation regarding any school, district, neighbourhood or property. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Median Sales Price
What Palmer homes sold for each month. This is the thinnest market on the site, so read the direction across several months and never draw a conclusion from one.
Palmer sells seven homes in a typical month, and the market ranges from $229,000 houses to three-million-pound ranches.
So a single large sale can swing the median hard. Watch the trend, not the month.
Recently the median rose while value per square foot fell about 2.5 percent. That is not appreciation — it is a different mix of houses selling.
The typical Palmer home sits near $322,000, not the half-million figure some portals advertise. And most of this postcode likely qualifies for zero down.
Recent readings have run roughly 80 to 120 days — slow, and less distorted by one odd sale than the price line is.
In a market this thin, this is the chart to trust first.
Palmer is a patient market. Price it right from day one and plan for a real marketing window — there is no flurry of buyers coming to rescue an optimistic number.
Anything well past the median has been waiting a long time in a small pond. Those sellers are usually ready to talk.
With around seven sales a month, this metric is a mood reading rather than a measurement. A single unusual listing dominates it.
Read it alongside days on market, never alone.
Showings without offers is nearly always price. Few showings is presentation, photography or reach — and in a town of 2,400, reach matters more than anywhere.
Palmer homes also sell to people who want the land. If a property has acreage, your competition is different — and often from further afield.
Palmer closes around seven homes a month and roughly 81 across a whole year — the thinnest market covered on this site, thinner even than Ferris.
That is why every other chart here carries a warning.
A single quiet month means nothing. Look across a year, and ignore any headline built on one reading.
For the growth maths, we use the county index rather than Palmer closings.
Thin cuts your way. Almost no competing buyers, sellers who have waited, and the lowest tax rate in the county once you own it.
Charts supplied by NTREIS via 10K Research and Marketing and update automatically. Data reflects residential activity reported to the MLS and may be revised as late-reported sales come in. A caution specific to Palmer, and a stronger one than for any other city covered on this site: the town transacts at roughly one to ten closings a month, with seven recorded in a recent month and approximately 81 across a trailing year. That is insufficient for a monthly median to carry statistical meaning, and these charts should be read as trends across many months rather than as monthly readings. The volatility this produces is demonstrable: a single source simultaneously reported a three-month median up 17.2 percent and a one-month average down 6.8 percent for this market. Meanwhile median price per square foot eased approximately 2.5 percent while the headline median rose, indicating that changes in the mix of properties sold rather than underlying appreciation are driving the local figures. Palmer's market spans an unusually wide range, from homes around $229,000 to rural acreage tracts listed in the millions, and a single large transaction can move a monthly median substantially. Published value figures for Palmer consequently range from approximately $226,000 to approximately $736,117 depending on whether a median or an average of active listings is used; the defensible figure for a typical Palmer home is approximately $322,500, and averages inflated by a small number of very large acreage listings should not be relied upon. Median days on market has recently run between approximately 80 and 121 days. New construction is minimal in Palmer, with one production builder active in town, and the market is predominantly resale plus rural acreage. Palmer carries a combined property tax rate of approximately 1.967 percent, the lowest of the Ellis County cities covered on this site, and no public improvement district, municipal utility district or reinvestment zone was identified affecting any Palmer subdivision. USDA Rural Development financing is very likely available across Palmer given a population well below the rural threshold, but eligibility is parcel-specific and subject to household income limits and must be verified on the official map before being relied upon. Market statistics describe the area as a whole and are no substitute for a comparative market analysis on a specific property. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so publicly available sale prices elsewhere are estimates rather than recorded figures. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides severely in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska, which has its own documented housing market; the charts here are drawn from the regional multiple listing service for Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Pick a purchase year and the price fills in. If you own here, type over it with what you actually paid. Published Palmer home values range from $226,000 to $736,000 depending on where you look — the first note below explains why, and which one to trust.
Bought here? Tap the number and enter what you paid.
Federal house price index growth, indexed to the purchase year, where the purchase year equals 100.
Both are describing Palmer. Only one describes a house you could buy.
The $736,000 figure is an average, not a median — and Palmer has only about twenty to twenty-four homes on the market at any moment. Two or three seven-figure ranches move that average by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
There genuinely are listings here at $1.5 million for 72 acres and $3 million for 150. They are real, and they are not your house.
Strip them out and the defensible figure sits between $300,000 and $366,000, with the leading value index at $322,524. That is the anchor used above. A five-year Census survey figure of $226,000 sits at the other extreme, lagging the market and weighted toward the older in-town stock.
Palmer sold seven homes in a recent month, and about 81 across a whole year. That is thinner than Ferris, which was already judged unreliable on this site.
Here is the proof, from a single source on a single day. Its three-month median showed Palmer up 17.2 percent. Its one-month figure showed Palmer down 6.8 percent. Same town, same week.
And the tell: while the median rose, value per square foot fell 2.5 percent. That is not appreciation — it is a couple of bigger houses on land happening to sell.
So the calculator above runs on the county repeat-sales index, not on Palmer closings. Days on market have run roughly 80 to 120 days, which is the honest picture.
Palmer's population of under 2,400 sits well below the rural threshold, and around 95 percent of Texas land area is USDA eligible. Every indicator points to Palmer qualifying.
That is genuine hundred percent financing on a home around $320,000, half an hour from downtown Dallas — alongside the lowest tax rate of any Ellis County city on this site and no PID assessment anywhere in town.
Two conditions before anyone relies on it. Eligibility is parcel-specific, so check the exact address on the official map, and household income limits apply — recently around $122,800 for a household of up to four.
Growth rates are the FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index, annual values 2009 through 2025: Ellis County, Texas (FRED series ATNHPIUS48139A), the State of Texas (TXSTHPI) and the United States (USSTHPI). State and national figures are annual averages of published quarters. The Ellis County series recorded 121.01 in 2009 and 290.36 in 2025, a rise of about 140 percent, with a rise of about 150 percent from the 2011 trough of 116.22 to the 2024 peak of 291.13; 2025 sits marginally below 2024 and is the first annual decline in the recent series. The prefilled dollar figures are derived, not published: they apply the Ellis County index to an anchor of $322,500, taken from a leading value index reading of $322,524 as at the end of August 2026, down 0.1 percent year on year. Entering your own purchase price replaces the estimate entirely. Published Palmer home value figures vary far more widely than in any other city covered on this site, ranging from approximately $226,000 to approximately $736,117, and the reason is measurement rather than disagreement. The highest figures are averages of active listings in a market with only around twenty to twenty-four listings at a time, in which a small number of very large acreage and ranch properties — including listings at approximately $1,507,480 for 72 acres and $3,067,400 for 150 acres — pull an average upward by hundreds of thousands of dollars while the median remains near $340,000. The lowest figure, approximately $226,000 with a margin of error of about $19,973, is a five-year Census survey average covering 2020 to 2024, weighted toward older owner-occupied in-town housing of which roughly 13 percent predates 1940, and it lags the current market. The defensible cluster is approximately $300,000 to $366,000, supported by a value index reading of $322,524, a zip-level reading of $297,079, a three-month closed sale median of $340,000 and a twelve-month sales median of approximately $365,597. Palmer transacts at roughly one to ten closings a month, with seven recorded in a recent month and approximately 81 across a trailing year, which is thinner than any other city covered here and insufficient for a monthly median to carry meaning. The volatility this produces is demonstrable: a single source simultaneously reported a three-month median up 17.2 percent and a one-month average down 6.8 percent. Median price per square foot has meanwhile eased approximately 2.5 percent to around $175 while the headline median rose, indicating that changes in the mix of properties sold rather than underlying appreciation are driving the local figures. All growth calculations here therefore use the repeat-sales county index rather than local closings, and any Palmer price figure should be read as a rolling twelve-month indication rather than a monthly reading. Median days on market has recently run between approximately 80 and 121 days. New construction is minimal in Palmer, with one production builder active in town and another building just outside it, and the market is predominantly resale plus rural acreage; acreage and manufactured housing both distort any median and are a meaningful share here. The index is built from conforming loans and excludes jumbo lending and all-cash purchases; with a 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 applying to all Texas counties, ordinary Palmer homes sit well below it, though large acreage estates in this market can approach or exceed that threshold, which is unusual among the towns covered here and worth confirming with a lender for that segment specifically. Equity figures assume a 30-year fixed mortgage at that year's Freddie Mac annual average rate, held to today, with no refinancing, no extra principal and no additional borrowing, and exclude closing costs, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, improvements and selling costs. Palmer carries a combined property tax rate of approximately 1.967 percent, the lowest of the Ellis County cities covered on this site, with an emergency services district adding 0.100000 where it applies, and no public improvement district, municipal utility district or reinvestment zone was identified affecting any Palmer subdivision. USDA Rural Development financing is very likely available in Palmer given a population well below the rural threshold and the broad eligibility of Texas land area, but this was not confirmed parcel by parcel; eligibility is address-specific and subject to household income limits, recently approximately $122,800 for households of one to four persons and $162,100 for five to eight, and both must be verified on the official USDA map and with an approved lender before being relied upon. This is an illustration for general reference, not an appraisal, a comparative market analysis, a valuation or investment advice. Past appreciation does not predict future appreciation. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Palmer sits on Interstate 45 at exits 258, 259 and 260 — twenty-seven miles from downtown Dallas, between Ferris at twenty and Ennis at thirty-five. Arguably the best access-for-the-price position on this stretch. The honest cost is below.
Typical Off-Peak Drive Time
Nearby
Minutes off-peak from central Palmer.
Three interchanges for a town of 2,400 is genuinely unusual. Exits 258, 259 and 260 all serve Palmer, backed by farm-to-market roads west to Waxahachie and east toward Bristol.
The position is the point. Ferris is closer to Dallas at twenty miles but pricier and carries PID assessments. Ennis is eight miles further out at thirty-five. Palmer sits between them at twenty-seven.
What that buys: rural acreage pricing and the lowest tax rate in the county, with a half-hour off-peak run into Dallas. For the right buyer that combination beats both neighbours.
Now the honest part. Palmer residents average 32.9 minutes to work — longer than any other town covered here, edging past Venus at 32.5, Kennedale at 32.4 and Ferris at 32.2.
Against a metro average of 27.9 and a national 27.2, that is roughly twenty percent above both.
The reason is straightforward. Palmer has about 505 jobs inside the city limits for 2,400 residents, so almost everyone drives out — and they scatter across the metro rather than all heading to one place.
The thirty minutes to downtown is what your drive could be. The 32.9 is what it averages. Which applies depends entirely on where you work.
Off-peak the run into Dallas is easy. At peak allow 40 to 55 minutes each way, and in heavy rain it can stretch toward ninety.
The squeeze is not near Palmer. It is northbound Interstate 45 approaching the interchanges, then the Stemmons approach into downtown and the medical district.
For scale, drivers across this metro lost around 56 hours to rush hour in a recent year — more than two full days, and over an hour worse than the year before.
Fort Worth is the one to avoid. Around an hour and twenty to an hour and fifty at peak, because it means crossing the entire metro. If you work there, this is the wrong town.
Stated plainly. Palmer has no bus, no rail and no park and ride, and is not in the DART service area — Ellis County sits entirely outside it.
A regional provider runs demand-response and medical transport into Ellis County on advance booking, which helps with appointments and is no use whatever for commuting.
Plan on a vehicle per driver. In a town where the average household runs to 3.2 people, that is worth costing properly before you buy.
The proposed outer loop matters less to Palmer than to its neighbour. Loop 9's segment terminates at Interstate 45 near Ferris and Malloy Bridge Road — north of Palmer, not at it.
Status: the environmental finding came through in 2018, the estimated cost is around $450 million, and it is to be built in phases starting with frontage roads as funding allows.
Treat it as a distant positive for northbound access rather than anything that changes your drive. No funded widening of Interstate 45 through Palmer itself was identified either.
One figure worth sitting with. Palmer's median household income runs around $104,000 — roughly a fifth above the metro average, with a poverty rate near 4.5 percent.
Households are bigger too: 3.2 people against a metro average of 2.7. This is a family town where people earn well and choose to live out here.
They are not earning it locally. With 88 businesses employing around 505 people, Palmer exports its workforce — the opposite of Ennis, which draws workers in. The big interstate logistics employers are up the road in Wilmer.
Drive times are off-peak estimates measured from central Palmer and derived from mapping and distance services combined with typical highway speeds, rather than a single live traffic source, and should be treated as accurate to within about five minutes; the figures for Mesquite, the Dallas medical district and Fair Park are composite estimates built from a verified Palmer to Dallas leg plus a documented onward leg, and carry a wider tolerance of roughly five miles and five minutes, so verify against a live map before relying on any single figure. Times vary with traffic, weather, construction and your exact starting point. Rush hour figures are modelled from documented corridor congestion patterns rather than individually timed observations and are presented as ranges accordingly. Commuting statistics are Census American Community Survey estimates for Palmer city, compared against a Dallas Fort Worth Arlington metro mean of 27.9 minutes and a national mean of 27.2. Palmer's mean travel time to work of 32.9 minutes, with a margin of error of approximately 3.5 minutes, is the longest of any city covered on this site; for a town of around 2,400 residents the survey margins are wide and the figure should be read as an indication rather than a precise measure. Palmer-specific mode share percentages for carpooling, transit and working from home were not retrieved at city level. Palmer has no fixed-route public transit of any kind and is not within the Dallas Area Rapid Transit service area, as Ellis County lies entirely outside it; a regional provider offers demand-response and medical transport into Ellis County on advance booking, which is not a commuting solution, and route-level coverage of Palmer itself was not confirmed. Regarding Loop 9: the proposed outer loop segment terminates at Interstate 45 near Ferris and Malloy Bridge Road, north of Palmer rather than at it. An environmental finding of no significant impact was issued in 2018 and the estimated cost is approximately $450 million, to be constructed in phases beginning with frontage roads as funding allows; the timeline is long-dated and funding-dependent and it should not be treated as a near-term change to any commute. No funded widening of Interstate 45 mainlanes through Palmer was identified in current state transportation programme documents, and any such claim should be verified before being relied upon. Employment figures reflect approximately 88 business establishments employing around 505 people with an annual payroll near $25.4 million, against a resident population of roughly 2,400, indicating that Palmer is a net exporter of workers; the major interstate logistics employers in this corridor are located in Wilmer and Hutchins rather than in Palmer, and appear under Palmer in job listings only because of search radius. Income and household figures are Census survey estimates carrying wide margins of error for a settlement of this size. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides severely in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska, which has its own documented housing market and commuting data to Anchorage; also with Palmer in Massachusetts, Colorado and Nebraska, with a research station in Antarctica, with a famous golfer and with the surname generally. Every figure here was verified against Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Results for neighbouring Ferris, Ennis, Waxahachie, Bristol, Garrett, Rice, Red Oak and Wilmer were excluded unless explicitly labelled. This information is provided for general reference and is not a representation about any specific property, commute, employer or future infrastructure outcome. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Answered with verified specifics — including the tax figure that a widely circulated guide gets wrong, and the things Palmer genuinely does not have. Where a source conflicts or I could not confirm something, it says so.
Most of the city is Palmer ISD — but not all of it, and the exception has caught people out.
The acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer is zoned to Waxahachie ISD, despite the name and a Palmer postal address. That is a school rate of 1.1681 rather than 1.0063, roughly $728 a year more on a $450,000 home.
It runs the other way too: Palmer ISD reaches beyond the city into parts of Ennis and Bristol. Verify by parcel on the Ellis Appraisal District and confirm with the district registrar. Never rely on the community name.
The combined rate is about 1.967 percent: city 0.666947, Palmer ISD 1.0063, Ellis County including lateral road 0.293662. That is the lowest of any Ellis County city covered on this site. An emergency services district adds ten cents where it applies.
Now the correction. A widely circulated title company rate guide lists Palmer ISD at 0.616900 — the identical figure it gives Waxahachie ISD in the same table. It is a transcription error.
The district's own board adopted 1.0063 on 19 August, built from 0.71130 for operations and 0.29500 for debt. The flyer understates a bill by roughly $1,363 a year on a $350,000 home. If a lender quotes it, they are quoting a mistake.
No. No public improvement district, municipal utility district or reinvestment zone was found affecting any Palmer subdivision.
That is worth weighing against the neighbours. Ferris carries two PIDs, at Shaw Creek Ranch and Woodstone, and Ennis has them on newer communities. Those assessments sit on top of the tax bill and are not reduced by a homestead exemption. Palmer has none.
Palmer is listed among USDA-eligible communities in Ellis County, and a town of 2,400 sits well below the rural threshold. Every indicator points to it qualifying for the zero-down rural development loan.
The guaranteed loan requires household income at or below 115 percent of area median income; direct loans use lower limits.
Eligibility is set parcel by parcel, so check your exact address on the official USDA map with an approved lender before relying on it.
Published Palmer figures run from about $226,000 to $736,000, and the reason is measurement rather than disagreement.
The high figures are averages of active listings in a market with only around twenty listings — and Palmer has genuine acreage tracts at $1.5 million and $3 million. Two of those move an average by hundreds of thousands.
A standard in-town three-bedroom runs roughly $290,000 to $330,000, with about $322,500 the defensible typical figure. Acreage is a different market entirely.
Slowly. One portal reported a median 121 days on market, and recent readings have run roughly 80 to 120.
The reason is volume. Palmer closes around seven homes a month and 81 in a year — the thinnest market covered on this site.
For a seller that means pricing right from day one, because no flurry of buyers is coming to rescue an optimistic number. For a buyer it means very little competition.
Generally no — and this surprises almost everyone moving from DFW.
Palmer is served by Navarro County Electric Cooperative, a member-owned co-operative. That means Palmer is not in the deregulated retail market: there is no Power to Choose shopping, no comparing retail plans. You take service from the co-op and become a member of it.
That is a real difference from Ferris and Ennis, which are in Oncor territory and can shop freely. One caveat: the city has referenced Oncor for some downtown and new-development connections, so confirm your specific address with both.
The City of Palmer bills water, sewer and trash, though the treated water itself is purchased wholesale through Rockett Special Utility District from the regional system.
Deposits run $150 for an owner-occupied home inside the city, $200 outside, and $250 to $350 for rentals, with a small application fee.
Inside the city, water starts at $48.75 for the first thousand gallons and sewer at a $26.00 minimum, with the sewer charge capped at eleven thousand gallons. A typical household lands somewhere around $90 to $130 a month for water, sewer and trash combined.
New construction should budget for connection: a water tap runs about $2,500 plus the meter, and a sewer capacity fee about $2,500.
Natural gas in built-up areas is Atmos Energy; rural properties commonly run propane.
Trash is city-billed at about $16.44 plus tax a month, with one rubbish cart and one recycling cart per home. There is nothing to sign up for separately — it appears on your utility bill.
Collection is weekly and shifts one day later after a Monday holiday. Bulk and special pickups run about $10 a load.
Several providers serve the postcode, but coverage is patchy and genuinely varies street to street.
AT&T offers fibre in parts of town alongside fixed wireless elsewhere, Spectrum offers cable, Frontier has fibre across some of the area, and Nextlink and Rise provide fixed wireless. Rural addresses often fall back on satellite.
One aggregator estimated fibre reaches only a small fraction of Palmer while provider maps show a wider footprint. If working from home matters, check your exact address before you buy — this is not a question to leave until after closing.
Palmer has its own police department and a volunteer fire and rescue service tied to Ellis County Emergency Services District 9. Dispatch runs through the county sheriff's office.
But say this plainly: there is no hospital, no emergency room and no urgent care in Palmer.
The nearest is Ennis Regional Medical Center, about eight miles south — a sixty-bed acute care facility with a Level IV trauma emergency department. Baylor Scott & White in Waxahachie is about eleven to thirteen miles west, with a freestanding emergency centre there too.
If proximity to emergency care matters to your household, that eight miles is the number to sit with.
No. Palmer has no public library — and if you search for one you will find palmerlibrary.org, which is Palmer, Massachusetts.
Worth noting that Ferris, a comparable size, does have one. The nearest options are Ferris about six miles away, Ennis about eight, and Red Oak about eleven.
There is a City Park and youth ball fields, with improvements funded through the municipal development district.
There is no municipal swimming pool and no splash pad. School events — particularly homecoming, for which the city closes its offices — serve as the main community gatherings.
Both, yes. The post office is at 310 East Jefferson Street, open weekday mornings and afternoons with a break in the middle of the day and closed at weekends, though the box lobby is accessible around the clock.
For groceries, Spring Market on North Dallas Street is the town's full grocery store — produce, deli, the lot — though it is a regional chain brand rather than an independent. Palmers Market is the independent alternative, with a live fish counter.
No public transport of any kind, and Palmer is not in the DART service area — Ellis County sits entirely outside it. Plan on a vehicle per driver.
The drive is the good news and the catch at once. Downtown Dallas is 27 miles up Interstate 45, roughly thirty minutes off-peak, with three interchanges serving the town.
But Palmer's average commute is 32.9 minutes — the longest of any town covered on this site. At peak, allow forty to fifty-five minutes each way. The thirty minutes is what your drive could be; the 32.9 is what it averages.
Most of the built-up town is expected to sit in low-risk Zone X on the federal flood maps, which were updated for Ellis County in recent years.
But drainage courses can place individual parcels in the hundred-year floodplain, and that is a parcel-level question rather than a town-level one.
Check your exact address on the FEMA map service centre and with county engineering before you write an offer. I do this as standard on any Palmer property.
This one matters more here than the brochures admit. Palmer sits on Houston Black clay — the official Texas state soil, a Blackland Prairie clay running across more than a million and a half acres.
It is typically 40 to 60 percent clay with extreme shrink and swell, meaning the ground genuinely moves with the seasons.
The practical implications: expect post-tension slabs or pier-and-beam on decent construction, take drainage and foundation watering seriously, and budget for a foundation inspection on any older home. This is normal for the region, not a defect — but it is not optional to think about.
Chickens, largely yes. Texas law prevents a city from banning a minimum of six hens on a residential lot, and Palmer appears to permit up to six with a permit. Livestock on genuine acreage is ordinary here.
On short-term lets, golf carts, fence heights and accessory dwellings, I would rather tell you to ring City Hall than guess. The code that comes up first in a search is Palmer, Alaska's — a genuine trap.
Confirm the specifics with the city before you plan around them.
In the main subdivisions, no — and that is increasingly rare.
The Meadows of Palmer explicitly has no HOA, and the older stock in Palmer Estates and Palmer Hill has none either.
Newer builder communities on the edges may carry covenants or an association, so verify per subdivision rather than assuming the town-wide answer applies.
Growing steadily rather than dramatically. 2,393 at the 2020 census, around 2,515 by the 2024 estimate, with projections nudging toward 2,600.
As an incorporated city wholly inside Ellis County, Palmer is not at risk of being annexed by anyone. The variable is interstate corridor pressure between Dallas and Ennis.
The one to watch is the school district. Palmer ISD is running ten-year facility planning, and a developer has offered to donate school land against a development that could eventually add thousands of homes. If a bond follows, the low tax rate that makes Palmer attractive would narrow toward its neighbours. Check the adopted rate each August.
Answers were verified as at September 2026 from the City of Palmer, the city code of ordinances, Palmer Independent School District board records, the Ellis Appraisal District, Ellis County, Ellis County Emergency Services District 9, the electricity co-operative, federal flood mapping, the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, broadband availability databases and listing portals. Rates, fees, hours and providers change; verify anything you intend to rely on. A correction is made here deliberately because the erroneous figure is widely circulated: a title company property tax rate guide lists the Palmer Independent School District rate as 0.616900, a figure identical to the Waxahachie Independent School District entry in the same table and irreconcilable with the district's own adopted rate of $1.0063 per $100, comprising $0.71130 for maintenance and operations and $0.29500 for interest and sinking. That guide understates an annual bill by roughly $1,363 on a $350,000 home. A second caution applies to new construction: the acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer carries a Palmer name and mailing address but is zoned to Waxahachie Independent School District, while Palmer Independent School District conversely extends into portions of Ennis and Bristol. School district must be confirmed by parcel. Utility figures are taken from the city's published fee schedule and are indicative rather than a quote; the typical monthly range given is an estimate combining water, sewer and refuse at ordinary household consumption and will vary with usage. Regarding electricity, the position is unusual and is stated carefully: Palmer is served by a member-owned electric co-operative rather than by a transmission and distribution utility within the deregulated retail market, so residents generally cannot select a competitive retail electric provider as they can in neighbouring Ferris and Ennis. The city has separately referenced a different utility in connection with certain downtown and new-development connections, so service territory should be confirmed for a specific address with both providers. Water is billed by the city but the treated supply is understood to be purchased wholesale through a regional special utility district; a distinct city-operated public water system identifier and standalone consumer confidence report could not be independently confirmed, and the city's registered certificate of convenience and necessity covers sewer. Outlying addresses in the postcode may be served by a rural water supply corporation. Water quality reporting should be obtained from the supplying system. Statements that something does not exist mean no reliable source could be found confirming it in Palmer. Specifically, Palmer has no public library, no hospital, no emergency room, no urgent care, no freestanding emergency centre, no municipal swimming pool or splash pad, no public transit of any kind, no private school, no charter campus, no cinema, no bookshop, no farmers market and no signature annual town festival. Flood zone, school attendance, utility service territory and USDA eligibility are all parcel-specific and must be verified by address; nothing here is a representation about any particular property. Ordinance specifics covering short-term rentals, golf carts, fence heights and accessory dwellings, and current building permit fee amounts, could not be independently confirmed from the city's own published code and should be obtained from City Hall; note that a municipal code readily returned by search under the Palmer name belongs to Palmer, Alaska and does not apply. Soil and foundation information is general regional guidance and is not a substitute for an inspection or an engineer's assessment of a specific property. Crime characterisation reflects the police department's own description; official statistics are maintained by the state. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides severely in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska and Palmer, Massachusetts, both of which operate full municipal governments, utilities, police departments and libraries under the same page names. Every contact detail, provider, fee and service here was verified as Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Neighbouring Ferris, Ennis, Waxahachie, Bristol, Garrett, Rice, Red Oak and Wilmer results were excluded unless explicitly labelled. This is general information, not legal, tax, lending, insurance, environmental or engineering advice. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
City services, utilities, emergency numbers and county offices — verified against Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. Two details below carry genuine source conflicts and are flagged rather than smoothed over.
650 South Dallas Street · PO Box 489, Palmer TX 75152
972-449-3160
One building covers almost everything: utilities billing, municipal court, animal control, code enforcement, building permits and public works. Mayor Laura Miller leads a mayor-and-five-council general law city.
Flagged: the meeting schedule shows differently across city sources — the website says third Tuesday at 6:30, a city update says third Thursday. Ring before you turn up.
Outages & service
800-771-9095 · 903-874-7411
The one that surprises people. Palmer is on a member-owned co-operative, not the deregulated retail market — there is no Power to Choose here, and no retail plans to compare.
Confirm your specific address, since the city has referenced a different utility for some downtown and new-build connections.
650 South Dallas Street
972-449-3160
The city bills water, sewer and trash together. Deposits run $150 owner-occupied inside the city, $200 outside, and $250 to $350 on rentals.
Budget roughly $90 to $130 a month all in, and for new construction, about $2,500 for a water tap plus meter and $2,500 for sewer capacity.
Rural properties often use propane
888-286-6700 · Leak 866-322-8667
Natural gas serves the built-up areas. Smell gas, leave first and call from outside — and ring 811 before any digging.
Arranged through the city
972-449-3160
Nothing to sign up for separately — it appears on the utility bill at about $16.44 plus tax a month, with one rubbish cart and one recycling cart per home.
Weekly collection, shifting a day later after a Monday holiday. Bulk pickups about $10 a load.
650 South Dallas Street
972-449-3160 · Dispatch 972-937-6060
Palmer runs its own full-time police department under Chief John Zaidle, with dispatch through the county sheriff.
Crash and incident reports are available weekdays 8 to 4 for a $6 fee.
Sources differ on the station — see below
911 emergency · 972-937-6060
A volunteer service tied to the county emergency services district, funded by the ten-cent levy that appears on some Palmer tax bills.
Flagged: the city lists the station on West Jefferson under one chief, while the district and the state forest service list South Sherman under another. Likely a station move or a leadership change. Confirm with the district if it matters to you.
Ennis · Waxahachie
Ennis ~8 miles · Waxahachie ~11–13
Stated plainly: no hospital, no emergency room and no urgent care in Palmer.
The nearest is Ennis Regional Medical Center about eight miles south — sixty beds with a Level IV trauma emergency department. Baylor Scott & White in Waxahachie is the larger option, with a freestanding emergency centre there too.
310 East Jefferson Street
972-845-2104
Worth knowing the hours before you drive over: weekdays 8:30 to noon and 1:30 to 4:30, closed at weekends. The box lobby is accessible around the clock.
Ferris · Ennis · Red Oak
Ferris 972-544-3696 · Ennis 972-875-5360
Palmer has no public library. Search for one and you will find palmerlibrary.org — which is Palmer, Massachusetts.
Ferris, a comparable size, does have one about six miles away. Ennis is about eight miles, Red Oak about eleven.
400 Ferris Avenue, Waxahachie TX 75165
972-937-3552 · 866-348-3552
Where you verify which taxing units actually apply to your parcel — including whether the emergency services district adds its ten cents.
Also where homestead exemptions are filed and valuations protested. This is the first call on any Palmer address question.
302 North Monroe Street, Waxahachie
972-825-5150 · Ennis branch 972-825-5390
Where tax bills are paid and vehicle registration handled, weekdays 8 to 4:30.
The Ennis branch on Sonoma Trail is far closer than Waxahachie for most Palmer residents — about eight miles rather than eleven.
Elementary, middle and high on Bulldog Way
District 972-449-3389
Elementary 972-449-3132, middle 972-449-3319, high school 972-449-3487.
Ring the district to confirm your campus, because some Palmer addresses fall in Waxahachie ISD and the district itself reaches into Ennis and Bristol.
County Commissioner Precinct 1
County 972-825-5000
Palmer sits in congressional district 6 and Texas House district 10, with Commissioner Randy Stinson covering Precinct 1.
Note that the state senate seat covering Palmer is currently vacant following a resignation, with a special election called. Check current status before you need to contact that office.
About fifteen minutes, start to finish
One, pull the parcel on the appraisal district to see which taxing units apply. Two, confirm the school district with the registrar, never the community name.
Three, check the flood zone on the federal map service centre by address. Four, confirm your electric provider, since co-op and utility territory both appear in Palmer.
Four calls, and it settles your school, your tax bill, your insurance and your power. I do all four as standard.
Verified September 2026 against the City of Palmer, the city code of ordinances, Palmer Independent School District, Ellis County, the Ellis Appraisal District, Ellis County Emergency Services District 9, the electricity co-operative and the United States Postal Service. Phone numbers, addresses, hours, fees and providers change; confirm anything you intend to rely on. Two source conflicts are flagged rather than resolved. First, the council meeting schedule appears as the third Tuesday at 6:30pm on the city website and as the third Thursday in a separate city update, and this should be confirmed before attending. Second, the fire station is listed by the city at an address on West Jefferson Street under one department chief, while the emergency services district and the state forest service list a different address on South Sherman Street under another chief with approximately 24 volunteers; both are Palmer, Texas sources and the discrepancy likely reflects a station move or a change in leadership. Regarding electricity, the position is unusual and is stated carefully: Palmer is served by a member-owned electric co-operative rather than by a transmission and distribution utility within the deregulated retail market, so residents generally cannot select a competitive retail electric provider as they can in neighbouring Ferris and Ennis. The city has separately referenced a different utility in connection with certain downtown and new-development connections, so service territory should be confirmed for a specific address with both providers. Water is billed by the city but the treated supply is understood to be purchased wholesale through a regional special utility district; a distinct city-operated public water system identifier and standalone consumer confidence report could not be independently confirmed, and the city's registered certificate of convenience and necessity covers sewer. Outlying addresses within the postcode may be served by a rural water supply corporation. Utility figures are taken from the city's published fee schedule and are indicative rather than a quote, and the typical monthly range given combines water, sewer and refuse at ordinary household consumption. The emergency services district levy of 0.100000 applies to some but not all Palmer addresses and should be verified by parcel with the appraisal district; the ground ambulance transport provider and whether transport is separately billed could not be confirmed and should be verified with the district. Statements that a service does not exist mean no reliable source could be found confirming it in Palmer. Specifically, Palmer has no public library, no hospital, no emergency room, no urgent care, no freestanding emergency centre, no municipal swimming pool or splash pad, no public transit of any kind and is not within the Dallas Area Rapid Transit service area, no private school and no charter campus. Building permit fee amounts and the specific ordinance provisions covering short-term rentals, golf carts, fence heights and accessory dwellings could not be independently confirmed from the city's published code and should be obtained from City Hall directly; a municipal code readily returned by search under the Palmer name belongs to Palmer, Alaska and does not apply here. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and this directory was the most vulnerable research on this site to contamination, because Palmer, Alaska and Palmer, Massachusetts both operate full municipal governments with police departments, utilities, public works and libraries under identical page names. Every contact detail, address, phone number, provider and office hour listed here was verified as Palmer, Ellis County, Texas, and no Alaska or Massachusetts detail was carried over. Neighbouring Ferris, Ennis, Waxahachie, Bristol, Garrett, Rice, Red Oak and Wilmer results were excluded unless explicitly labelled as being outside Palmer; services listed under other towns are included so a resident understands realistic nearby provision and should be confirmed with the relevant provider. Listings are for general local reference and are not endorsements; I receive no compensation from any organisation named. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Palmer is a small town that is easy to get wrong. The most-quoted tax table in the region has its school rate wrong. Its published home values span half a million pounds. And one community with Palmer in the name is not in Palmer's school district. Everything on this page was researched, verified, and the awkward parts named.
This is Palmer's headline and most agents miss it. A combined rate near 1.967 percent — lower than Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ferris, Red Oak, Venus and Ennis. And no PID anywhere in town, which is more than Ferris or Ennis can say. I can show you the arithmetic against any of them, because on a $400,000 home the school portion alone runs $898 a year cheaper here than in Ferris or Ennis.
A widely circulated regional rate guide lists Palmer ISD at 0.6169 — the identical figure it gives Waxahachie ISD in the same table. It is a copying error. The district's own board adopted 1.0063 in August 2026, built from 0.71130 for operations and 0.29500 for debt. That flyer understates a Palmer bill by roughly $1,363 a year on a $350,000 home. If your lender quotes it, they are quoting a mistake.
The trap that costs new-build buyers real money. The acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer carries a Palmer name and a Palmer postal address, and is zoned to Waxahachie ISD. That is a school rate of 1.1681 rather than 1.0063 — about $728 a year more on a $450,000 home. It works the other way too: Palmer ISD reaches into parts of Ennis and Bristol. I verify the district by parcel, never by the sign at the entrance.
Both describe Palmer. Only one describes a house you could buy. The high figure is an average, in a market with roughly twenty listings — and there are genuinely tracts here at $1.5 million for 72 acres and $3 million for 150. Two of those move an average by hundreds of thousands. The defensible number is near $322,500. I will price your home against what actually sells, not against a portal's arithmetic.
Palmer is the thinnest market on this site — about seven closings a month and 81 a year. That means no flurry of buyers is coming to rescue an optimistic price, and homes run 80 to 120 days. For a seller that means pricing right from day one and planning a real marketing window. For a buyer it means almost no competition and sellers who have been waiting. Either way, the approach here is not the approach in Waxahachie.
Palmer asks for a real trade. The longest average commute of any town on this site at 32.9 minutes, despite being 27 miles out. No hospital, no public transport of any kind, and no town festival. There are about 505 jobs inside the city limits for 2,400 residents, so nearly everyone drives. If that drive will wear you down, you will hear it from me before you sign anything. I would rather lose the commission than sell you the wrong life.
Check the school district by parcel, not by the community name — Estates of Palmer is the cautionary example. Second, do not use the published rate table; the Palmer ISD figure in it is wrong, and the real rate is 1.0063. Third, ignore any average home price you see for Palmer, because a handful of million-pound acreage listings distort it beyond use. Fourth, ask about USDA before you assume you need a down payment, since a town this size almost certainly qualifies. Fifth, plan on a vehicle per driver — there is no bus, no rail, and Ellis County sits entirely outside the metro transit area. And sixth, watch for a school bond: the district is running ten-year facility planning against a development that could add thousands of homes, and the low rate that makes Palmer attractive would narrow if one passes.
Three things to raise with all three in Palmer. Ask about USDA first, because a town this size almost certainly qualifies and it changes the whole conversation. Give them the correct school rate of 1.0063, not the figure in the published table, or your escrow estimate will be wrong. And if you are buying acreage, confirm the conforming loan limit, because large tracts here can approach it in a way an ordinary Palmer house never does. I recommend these lenders based on their expertise and service. I do not receive compensation for referrals.
Either is fine. I answer my own phone, and there is no version of this where you get routed to a call centre or handed to a junior agent. Send me an address and I will tell you which school district it is actually in, what the tax bill genuinely looks like, whether it qualifies for zero down, and what it is worth against what actually sells here.
Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® · Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team · 214-228-0003 · northtexasmarketinsider.com
Information on this page is provided for general reference and is not legal, tax, insurance, environmental or lending advice. Palmer lies wholly within Ellis County, unlike neighbouring Ferris which straddles the Dallas county line. Tax figures are computed from published rates, shown before exemptions unless stated, and are illustrations rather than quotes; rates reset annually. The combined figure of approximately 1.967 percent comprises a city rate of 0.666947, Palmer Independent School District at 1.0063 and Ellis County including lateral road at 0.293662, with Ellis County Emergency Services District 9 adding 0.100000 where it applies. A correction is made here deliberately because the erroneous figure is widely circulated: a regional property tax rate guide published by a title company lists the Palmer Independent School District rate as 0.616900, a figure identical to the Waxahachie Independent School District entry in the same table and irreconcilable with the district's own adopted rate of $1.0063 per $100, adopted unanimously on 19 August 2026 and comprising $0.71130 for maintenance and operations and $0.29500 for interest and sinking. That guide understates an annual Palmer bill by roughly $1,363 on a $350,000 home. A second caution applies to new construction: the acre-lot community marketed as Estates of Palmer carries a Palmer name and a Palmer mailing address but is zoned to Waxahachie Independent School District rather than Palmer Independent School District, which levies a materially higher school rate; conversely Palmer Independent School District extends beyond the city limits into portions of Ennis and Bristol. Community names and mailing addresses are not reliable guides to school district here and must be confirmed by parcel. No public improvement district, municipal utility district or tax increment reinvestment zone was identified affecting any Palmer residential subdivision, which distinguishes Palmer from Ferris and Ennis; this finding is strongly supported but buyers should still confirm for a specific parcel. Published Palmer home value figures range from approximately $226,000 to approximately $736,117 because they measure different things: the highest are averages of active listings in a market with only around twenty to twenty-four listings at a time, in which a small number of very large acreage tracts distort an average severely, while the lowest is a lagging five-year Census survey average. The defensible figure for a typical Palmer home is approximately $322,500. Palmer transacts at roughly one to ten closings a month and approximately 81 across a trailing year, the thinnest market covered on this site, which is insufficient for a monthly median to carry statistical meaning; median days on market has recently run between approximately 80 and 121 days. USDA Rural Development financing is very likely available in Palmer given a population well below the rural threshold, but this was not confirmed parcel by parcel; eligibility is address-specific and subject to household income limits and must be verified on the official USDA map with an approved lender. Palmer has no hospital, no fixed-route public transit and is not within the Dallas Area Rapid Transit service area; the mean travel time to work of 32.9 minutes is the longest of any city covered on this site, and employment within the city limits is limited to approximately 505 jobs across roughly 88 establishments against a resident population of about 2,400. Electricity is supplied by a member-owned co-operative rather than through the deregulated retail market. School accountability ratings change annually and current ratings should be checked on the state portal; the district is undertaking long-range facility planning against projected growth, and any future bond would raise the debt portion of its rate. School information is not a recommendation regarding any school, district, neighbourhood or property. Flood status, school assignment and utility service must all be verified by address. "Palmer" is an extremely common place and surname and collides severely in searches, most seriously with Palmer, Alaska, which has its own documented housing market and commuting data; all research behind this page was verified against Palmer, Ellis County, Texas. All real estate services are provided through Legacy Realty Group. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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