HarlemFL
A town of 2,420, established in 1926.
Is Harlem a good place to live?
The best of Harlem’s subject grades are a B+ for cost of living and the outdoors; the weakest is a D− for health. On history, just 64 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse. Harlem has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
100% of working residents leave Harlem for work
Where Harlem’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Harlem grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Harlem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Harlem: who provides what
Harlem is unincorporated, so Hendry County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Harlem.
More of Harlem’s adults report frequent mental distress than in the typical Florida or U.S. town
Among adults in Harlem, 82% had a checkup this year, where Florida’s towns sit at 79% and U.S. towns at 79%. Only 3 of the 637 Florida towns we compare have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Harlem. In Harlem, just over two in five adults get no exercise outside work. This Florida town beats the Florida average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 21.
| Harlem | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 20% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Harlem | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 9.1% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.7% | 14.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 23.8% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Harlem stands out in Florida and nationally, with fewer of its working residents who work locally
The income of the median household for Harlem comes to $46,000. The average commute for Harlem comes to 29 minutes, above both the Florida town median (27 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Among residents here, 6.7% live below the poverty line. For half of commuters, work is under 36 miles away.
| Harlem | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $46,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.1% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest natural risk in Harlem is hurricanes, at a high overall level
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 70% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Harlem once, in 2017. FEMA puts 51% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 18% to inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Harlem has mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 53° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Harlem sell for about $165K
For Harlem, the going rate for rent is $963 a month. The share of households in Harlem who are owner-occupiers: 38%.
| Harlem | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $963 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Harlem
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Harlem; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Harlem residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
About Harlem
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Harlem is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hendry County, Florida, United States. It was established in 1926, and its population is predominantly African American. The population was 2,441 at the 2020 census, down from 2,658 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Clewiston, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 20 ft
- Area code
- 863
Questions about Harlem
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Harlem, FL expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $56,000, 85% below the Florida typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.