Carlisle is a medium-sized borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 22,203 people and ten associated neighborhoods, Carlisle is the 43rd largest community in Pennsylvania. Much of the housing stock in Carlisle was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs in the country.

Also of interest is that Carlisle has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Carlisle telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.81% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.

In addition, Carlisle is a college town. There are a lot of students in Carlisle attending college, and as a result Carlisle provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared to the needs and activities of students.

Carlisle, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the borough.

The citizens of Carlisle are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 38.36% of adults in Carlisle have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Carlisle in 2022 was $34,552, which is middle income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $138,208 for a family of four. However, Carlisle contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Carlisle is a very ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Carlisle home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Carlisle residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Carlisle include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Carlisle is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Serbo-Croatian.