When it was moved to its current location, it was known as Groveland, after a noticeable grove of trees within the town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.06 square miles (2.75 km2), all land.

Currently the minister assigned to the charge serves only North Parma.

As of 2007, North Parma remains independent, though this is not necessarily considered to be a permanent arrangement.

Today, the village has two exits on I-94, which replaced US 12 as the primary route from Detroit to Chicago when the Interstate highway system was built.

This is the oldest segment of I-94, beginning at Sargent Road in East Jackson and running west to Michigan Avenue outside of Parma.

This older segment of the road is identifiable by its median, which is significantly narrower than the rest of I-94.

Parma is also located on the Michigan Central Railroad, which was historically the most significant and is currently the only railway from Detroit to Chicago.

On June 23, 1923, the train derailed and slammed into the jail, which was destroyed and never rebuilt.

The scene, which is still remembered by some older residents, was commemorated in 1999 as part of the elaborate "History of Parma" section of the playground at Groner Park.

High school students from Parma therefore currently attend Western High School, which Parma shares with nearby Spring Arbor and the western edge of Jackson.

The school opened mid year so the Kindergarten class of 1952 also attended the first half of First Grade in the Masonic Temple.

Parma is historically and traditionally an agricultural community, and most of the surrounding area remains used for that purpose.

There are a handful of small manufacturing concerns in the area, located mostly along the Michigan Avenue corridor.

The community scored quite a coup In the early 1990s, Michigan Automotive Compressors, Inc., an auto parts plant run by a Japanese company, was constructed here.