Harlem’s household incomes are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
0% of workers have no commute at all, against 16% across Florida. 6.7% of residents are in poverty (Florida 12.6%). For jobs and income Harlem is better than 23% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Harlem apart on work
Harlem is a place people come home to
There are 16 jobs based in Harlem, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Harlem has about 1,700 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
48% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Harlem and Clewiston trade workers both ways
Clewiston is the top workplace for Harlem residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Harlem come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 748 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Harlem’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Harlem’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($46,038, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (12.3%) is left out: Harlem’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Harlem could be anywhere from D to B−.
In and out of Harlem on a workday
On a workday 747 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Harlem on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.02 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far it is to work from Harlem
About 48% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
19% of working residents work in Clewiston
Where Harlem clocks in
8% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Most jobs in Harlem are in services
16 jobs are based in Harlem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harlem, 2013 → 2023: 35 → 16. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harlem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Harlem: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harlem workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 811 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute in Harlem is mostly behind the wheel
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across Florida, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 811 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.7% of Harlem households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Harlem’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Harlem ranks: 3,792nd of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Atlantis FL | 2,140 | $117K | 3.6% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Pelican Marsh FL | 2,617 | $143K | 2.7% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 127 | Old Miakka FL | 1,818 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,790 | Cahokia Township IL | 3,084 | $57K | 15.1% | 4.7% | 2% | C− |
| 3,791 | Haskell Township KS | 1,812 | $72K | 14.9% | 4.6% | 31% | C− |
| 3,792 | Harlem FL | 2,420 | $46K | 6.7% | 12.3% | <1% | C− |
| 3,793 | Marissa IL | 1,724 | $55K | 12.8% | 14.2% | 6% | C− |
| 3,794 | Pelican Rapids MN | 2,608 | $64K | 16.6% | 4.5% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Harlem, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Harlem: questions
What is the median household income in Harlem?
$46,038 (±$22,480) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harlem?
6.7%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harlem?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harlem work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clewiston (19%, 2 mi), LaBelle (8%, 31 mi), South Bay (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Harlem walkable?
Harlem is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harlem without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Harlem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harlem
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.