Harbach, Gerald, Round Barn · Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY 2.5At 0.4%, unemployment in Harlem Township is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Harlem Township are A− for jobs and income and D for walkability. 7% of workers have no commute at all, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. Only 2% work in Harlem Township; the top destination outside it is Freeport (35%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Harlem Township apart on work
Harlem Township and Freeport trade workers both ways
Freeport is the top workplace for Harlem Township residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in Harlem Township come from (36% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
49% of the jobs in Harlem Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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 986 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Harlem Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Harlem Township is better than 81% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Harlem Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Harlem Township could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Where Harlem Township’s working residents head each day
Where Harlem Township clocks in
35% of workers
9% 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.
What work there is in Harlem Township: 322 jobs
322 jobs are based in Harlem Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harlem Township, 2013 → 2023: 326 → 322. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Harlem Township
On a workday 967 residents head out to work, 19 work right here, and 303 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Harlem Township on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
Harlem Township’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 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 996 commuters (the 7% 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.
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Harlem Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harlem Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns. 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 1,067 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). 0.2% 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.
Ranked on jobs and income, Harlem Township is 647th among 5,234 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 645 | Millwood WA | 1,825 | $83K | 9.5% | 0.7% | 2% | A− |
| 646 | Hebron Township IL | 2,338 | $106K | 6.2% | 3.3% | 7% | A− |
| 647 | Harlem Township IL | 1,949 | $95K | 6.1% | 0.4% | 2% | A− |
| 648 | Washington Township OH | 2,264 | $86K | 6.2% | 1.5% | 1% | A− |
| 649 | New Denmark WI | 1,539 | $109K | 7.5% | 2.0% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
40% of Harlem Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Harlem Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlem Township | – | A− | D | 31 min | $95,000 |
| Freeport | 35% | C− | B+ | 16 min | $51,723 |
| Freeport Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Florence Township | 2% | B− | C | 17 min | $90,698 |
| Lancaster Township | 2% | B+ | D− | 18 min | $91,250 |
| Erin Township | 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Buckeye Township | under 2% | B− | C | 29 min | $76,094 |
| Waddams Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Freeport Township: not graded. Erin Township and Waddams Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Freeport. 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 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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Harlem Township?
$95,000 (±$17,112) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harlem Township?
6.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harlem Township?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harlem Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (35%, 5 mi), Rockford (9%, 33 mi), Monroe (3%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Harlem Township walkable?
Harlem Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.0 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 <1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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), 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.