Household incomes in Harlem trail those of 92% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 10.8% (Georgia 13.4%). Harlem grades B− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 3% work in Harlem itself; outside it, Augusta draws the most (31%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Harlem: the gist
Harlem has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Harlem went from 380 in 2013 to 682 in 2023, +79%. The jobs ↓
Harlem and Augusta trade workers both ways
Augusta is the top workplace for Harlem residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Harlem come from (10% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Harlem’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Harlem is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #113 of 263 in Georgia. Unemployment holds Harlem’s grade up (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($46,197, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Harlem could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The 682 jobs based in Harlem
682 jobs are based in Harlem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harlem, 2013 → 2023: 380 → 682. 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.
Where Harlem’s working residents head each day
Where Harlem clocks in
6% 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.
Who works in Harlem, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,414 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 634 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Harlem on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.47 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.
The trip to work from Harlem: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harlem workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,571 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Georgia: 84% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Harlem
About 24% 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.
Most trips from Harlem start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harlem is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #173 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Georgia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,780 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). 23.1% of Harlem households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Harlem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Harlem places 2,238th of 3,962 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Grayson GA | 5,569 | $131K | 3.5% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Avondale Estates GA | 3,543 | $124K | 6.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 270 | Ball Ground GA | 3,470 | $118K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,236 | Newark Valley NY | 3,500 | $81K | 11.9% | 3.7% | 9% | B− |
| 2,237 | Henry Township OH | 4,124 | $62K | 12.6% | 3.1% | 12% | B− |
| 2,238 | Harlem GA | 4,239 | $46K | 10.8% | 2.3% | 3% | B− |
| 2,239 | Canton TX | 5,070 | $51K | 11.7% | 0.7% | 19% | B− |
| 2,240 | Athens NY | 3,917 | $85K | 6.6% | 6.3% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Georgia.
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?
$46,197 (±$12,858) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harlem?
10.8%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harlem?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harlem work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (31%, 15 mi), Martinez (6%, 14 mi), Evans (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Harlem walkable?
Harlem is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harlem without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 23% 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.