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 an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

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.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Harlan spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 16.20 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

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.