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.

A relatively large number of people in Harlan telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 7.77% 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.

One of the benefits of Harlan is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.20 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

The education level of Harlan citizens is a little higher than the average for US cities and towns: 21.61% of adults in Harlan have at least a bachelor's 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.