Work & commute · Harlan

Work & commute in Harlan, KY

Most working residents leave Harlan for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Lexington-Fayette urban county (5%), London (4%) and Hazard (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

94 of 565 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 471 Harlan residents head out of town to work, 94 work right here, and 712 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Harlan.

471live here, work elsewhere

94live and work here

712work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Harlan goes to work

Harlan (in town)right here

17%94

Lexington-Fayette urban county103.8 mi away

5%28

London46 mi away

4%20

Hazard29.7 mi away

3%18

Middlesborough27.3 mi away

2%14

Barbourville31.2 mi away

1%8

Danville97.2 mi away

1%6

Somerset73 mi away

1%6

Williamsburg47.3 mi away

1%5

Frankfort126.2 mi away

1%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

64%361

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Harlan commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

49%

18%

29%

49%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Harlan is balanced between jobs and homes

1.43jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.43 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Harlan are

806 jobs are based in Harlan. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harlan’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Harlan

806 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Harlan residents hold

565 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month44%

−26%

Jobs based in Harlan, 2013 → 2023: 1,088 → 806. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.