county

Harlan County, NE

Demographic and economic profile of Harlan County, NE, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Harlan County is a small, agriculture-oriented Nebraska county with a population of 3,006 and a GDP per capita of $65,708, notably outpacing its per capita income of $39,947. The workforce is tight, with unemployment at just 1.6% and labor force participation at 61.4%, reflecting an older median age of 47.3 years; 24.2% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are low—median home value of $147,200 and median gross rent of $708/month—though the county has shed 12.6% of its population over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

3,006

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,625

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-12.6% since 2018

Harlan County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone2,696 (94.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race51 (1.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races51 (1.8%)
  • Asian Alone33 (1.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone12 (0.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone4 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish45
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island29
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic21
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)6
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

49.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

180

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$65,708

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$39,947

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance320
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining197
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)147
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)146
  5. 5.Other Services, Except Public Administration (Group)100

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations513
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations319
  3. 3.Service Occupations195
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations186
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations166

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 9.53×)218
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.63×)110
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.00×)143
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.99×)332
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.77×)120

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$147,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$708/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

85.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999117 (11.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999108 (10.5%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999105 (10.2%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99992 (9.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99966 (6.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99958 (5.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$43,616

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

1.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone992 (72.4%)
  • Carpooled169 (12.3%)
  • Worked At Home116 (8.5%)
  • Walked86 (6.3%)
  • Bicycle4 (0.3%)
  • Other4 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.