Palmer
Matanuska-Susitna · USGS GNIS name record 1407737
Explore statistics nearby
These Census tracts have reference points near Palmer. Their figures describe the entire named tract, not this locality. Open a tract to inspect its map, sources and demographic percentages.
Census tract 12.01 ↗
Matanuska-Susitna Borough · AK
- Population
- 6,236
- Median home value
- $320,500
Census tract 12.02 ↗
Matanuska-Susitna Borough · AK
- Population
- 4,933
- Median home value
- $351,300
Census tract 11 ↗
Matanuska-Susitna Borough · AK
- Population
- 8,374
- Median home value
- $433,900
Census tract 13 ↗
Matanuska-Susitna Borough · AK
- Population
- 6,427
- Median home value
- $357,700
The source behind the name
USGS GNIS Populated Place names in all 50 states and DC. Features in the historical extract or explicitly named historical are excluded; duplicate decision records with identical identities and coordinates are collapsed. GNIS points identify names, not legal or neighborhood boundaries, current occupancy, school attendance or a statistical population. Nearby Census places and tracts remain separately named geographies. Name completeness and currency vary; this is not a claim to include every locally used neighborhood name.
Original USGS record for Palmer ↗Dataset snapshot 2026-09-02 · Source record edited 06/07/2022 · NAD83 · approximate source location
USGS description & history
population 1,181, in Matanuska Valley, 37 mi. NE of Anchorage, Cook Inlet Low.
Agricultural supply town, established as a railroad station on the Matanuska Branch of The Alaska RR. about 1916. The Palmer post office was established in 1917; discontinued in 1925. The Warton post office operated here from 1931 to 1935, and was then changed back to Palmer in 1935 (Ricks, 1965, p. 49, 50, 70). The town became the center of the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation administered by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, the supply center of a colony of about 180 farm families from midwest United States in the 1930's. Its population was 150 in 1939 and 890 in 1950. It is thought to have been named for George Palmer, trader in the Knik Arm area in the late 1800's.
Source notes may describe earlier conditions.Source files & checksums
SHA-256 20c96936a3ba430b345eed1c7395b6aab52875aac8e1e2905fab37b388cab381
SHA-256 45ad8d56b3bb4990ad8105cdda15ee7d2f07afd6941afe75b783f29b02723697
SHA-256 919fac887628b8547ec1b24fae319522a9481a56909c3914d1e0a2b56783147c