Despite the title and the existence of an actual "Palmetto" in Florida, the movie was filmed largely in and around Sarasota, FL.
Elizabeth Shue and Gina Gershon also starred in the movie Cocktail(1988) ten years earlier.
During the scene in which Harry is sitting at a table doing a crossword puzzle while listening to the radio, a sports update can be heard mentioning the Hartford Whalers. Hartford no longer had an NHL franchise in 1998, the year Palmetto was released.