| Palayad | |
| Native Name Lang: | ml |
| Settlement Type: | town |
| Pushpin Map: | India Kerala#India |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Kerala, India |
| Coordinates: | 11.7917°N 75.4681°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kerala |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kannur |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Population Total: | 16462 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Malayalam, English |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 670661 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | 91 (0)490 |
| Registration Plate: | KL 58- |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Nearest city |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Thalassery |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Sex ratio |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 1000:1040 ♂/♀ |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Literacy |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | 83% |
| Blank4 Name Sec1: | Lok Sabha constituency |
| Blank4 Info Sec1: | Kannur |
| Blank5 Name Sec1: | Vidhan Sabha constituency |
| Blank5 Info Sec1: | Dharmadom |
| Iso Code: | IN-KL |
Palayad is a census town in Thalassery Taluk in the Indian state of Kerala.
India census,[1] Palayad had a population of 16,462. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Palayad has an average literacy rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 79%. In Palayad, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
As part of the National Education Policy (1986), District Institute for Education and Training (DIETs) were established in selected districts all over India in 1986, along with Kannur DIET here. Govt. Brennen College, founded in 1851, is one of the oldest educational institutions in the region. There is also a Center of Kannur University here which provides Post Graduate courses.
Important Educational Institutions in and around Palayad are
University of Calicut maintained its English and Anthropology departments at Palayad for a long time. When the University of Calicut was bifurcated to form a new Kannur University, Palayad came under the jurisdidiction of Kannur University.
See Also Educational Institutions in Thalassery
The national highway passes through Dharmadam town. Mangalore, Goa and Mumbai can be accessed on the northern side and Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram can be accessed on the southern side. The nearest railway stations are Dharmadam and Thalassery on Mangalore-Palakkad line. Trains are available to almost all parts of India subject to advance booking over the internet. There are airports at Kannur, Mangalore and Calicut. All of them are international airports but direct flights are available only to Middle Eastern countries.