Harlan is a very small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 4,891 people and two associated neighborhoods, Harlan is the 98th largest community in Iowa. Harlan has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.77% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 16.20 minutes getting to work every day.

The citizens of Harlan are slightly better educated than the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns, with 21.61% of adults in Harlan having a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Harlan in 2022 was $36,327, which is middle income relative to Iowa and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $145,308 for a family of four. However, Harlan contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Harlan home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Harlan residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Harlan include German, Irish, English, Danish, and Dutch.

The most common language spoken in Harlan is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.