Harlem Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.6 for each
Jobs and income earn Harlem Township B−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Harlem Township has 10,652 jobs, and 18,717 of its residents work somewhere. For 9% of workers, the job is at home; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Harlem Township
Much of Harlem Township works one town over
53% of working residents work in a town that borders Harlem Township: Rockford (34%), Loves Park (11%) and Machesney Park (6%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Harlem Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Harlem Township: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Harlem Township is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #509 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Harlem Township’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Harlem Township could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Commuting from Harlem Township: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harlem Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,734 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
A workday in Harlem Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 16,736 residents head out to work, 1,981 work right here, and 8,671 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Harlem Township on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
34% of working residents work in Rockford
Where Harlem Township clocks in
34% 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.
Goods jobs make up 34% of work in Harlem Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harlem Township, 2014 → 2024: 10,739 → 10,652. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harlem Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Harlem Township
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Harlem Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harlem Township is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #626 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Harlem Township near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 18,457 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.2% of Harlem Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Harlem Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Harlem Township ranks: 766th of 1,064 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 53,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 764 | Pearl MS | 28,864 | $62K | 12.2% | 4.3% | 15% | B− |
| 765 | Redford Township MI | 47,432 | $69K | 11.6% | 6.8% | 3% | B− |
| 766 | Harlem Township IL | 39,287 | $78K | 11.0% | 6.5% | 11% | B− |
| 767 | Vestal NY | 32,055 | $83K | 11.8% | 5.6% | 15% | B− |
| 768 | Mankato MN | 46,529 | $67K | 20.6% | 6.0% | 49% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,064 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
53% of Harlem Township works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Rockford (34%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Harlem Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlem Township | – | B− | C+ | 23 min | $77,883 |
| Roscoe Township | under 1% | A− | C+ | 27 min | $108,711 |
| Machesney Park | 6% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $75,489 |
| Owen Township | under 1% | A | D− | 27 min | $95,370 |
| Rockford | 34% | C− | B | 22 min | $54,752 |
| Caledonia Township | under 1% | B+ | D | 35 min | $104,492 |
| Rockford Township | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Loves Park | 11% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $61,868 |
| Roscoe | 2% | A− | C | 27 min | $93,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rockford Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Harlem Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Harlem Township?
$77,883 (±$3,110) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harlem Township?
11.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harlem Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harlem Township work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (34%, 8 mi), Loves Park (11%, 2 mi), Machesney Park (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Harlem Township walkable?
Harlem Township is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harlem Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Harlem Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harlem Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.