Census-designated place · Lee County, Florida

Harlem Heights, Florida

Harlem Heights is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area. It has 1,122 residents. Harlem Heights, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 33 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,456 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #498 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on depression (low), new business applications (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), rent as share of income (high) and hot days (high).

33Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,456 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #498 of 780 in FL
Population: 1,122 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,733.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1228937

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 77 of 83 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety53#7,372/15,637
Economy37#9,818/15,631
Housing12#13,138/14,977
Health73#4,179/15,609
Healthcare31#10,759/15,650
Environment57#6,571/15,453
Education38#9,652/15,650
Infrastructure33#10,523/15,650
Community16#13,145/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#6,000/15,651
Nature & outdoors—

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Harlem Heights, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lee County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Depression · low14.7%
98/100Florida 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
New business applications · high24.7 /1k
95/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLee County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.42%
93/100Florida 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Mammography screening · high55.0%
91/100Florida 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Fast internet available · high100.0%
90/100Florida 96.6%United States 95.4%Dec 2025Federal Communications Commission
Life expectancy · high81.0 yrs
89/100Florida 78.5 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high76.5%
2/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Hot days · high126 days
3/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLee County value
Students per school counselor · high606×
4/100Florida 423×United States 356×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLee County value
Natural hazard risk · high95.6
5/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLee County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
5/100Florida 0.2 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLee County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,957 (2015-2019) → 1,122 (2020-2024)
−43%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
77.8% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−78 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
50.3% (2015-2019) → 4.9% (2020-2024)
−45 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$27,279 (2015-2019) → $57,014 (2020-2024)
+109%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
6.5% (2015-2019) → 22.5% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
60.9% (2015-2019) → 76.5% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Harlem Heights, Florida improved on 1 of 6 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 4 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Child poverty−78 points77.8% → 0.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 6 measures

Change of every measure of Harlem Heights, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Child poverty rate	77.8%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−78 points	Improved	100%
High school diploma or higher	81.4%2015-2019	80.6%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Households subscribed to broadband	75.2%2015-2019	83.9%2020-2024	+8.7 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4692015-2019	0.4302020-2024	−0.040	Within the margin of error	79%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	51.0%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	0 points	Little change	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 6681 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Harlem Heights, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Harlem Heights, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Harlem Heights, Florida five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Harlem Heights, Florida itself moved +1.7 points in standing on average over the same 4 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,122 residents (±344)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

654 households (±217)

Harlem Heights, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k6.1%†40
$25k–50k32%†208
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

654 households (±217)

Harlem Heights, Florida
Florida share

Own49%†318
Rent51%†336

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

749 workers (±283)

Harlem Heights, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone57%†426
Carpool26%†192
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lee County, the county holding most of Harlem Heights's residents.

Lee County has 22,756 employer establishments, 269 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Florida's), with 264,855 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,417. The Census Bureau also counts 114,704 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 22,756; 114,704 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 269; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 264,855
Average annual pay: $55,417; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lee County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	2,697	31.9	2.06×More than typical	25,169	$57,963	10,087
Lessors of real estate	1,861	22	1.79×More than typical	5,822	$56,311	12,361
Ambulatory health care services	1,770	20.9	1.00×About typical	20,352	$74,372	6,551
Restaurants and other eating places	1,317	15.6	0.85×About typical	28,185	$24,141	634
Services to buildings and dwellings	1,254	14.8	2.20×More than typical	8,243	$40,048	10,331
Real estate agents and brokers	1,134	13.4	2.75×More than typical	1,811	$83,144	4,936
Construction of buildings	1,052	12.4	1.64×More than typical	6,504	$78,560	5,386
Building finishing contractors	916	10.8	2.85×More than typical	5,494	$48,601	3,853
Building equipment contractors	889	10.5	1.75×More than typical	9,076	$63,932	2,174
Full-service restaurants	692	8.2	1.06×About typical	17,117	$26,900	262
Management, scientific and technical consulting	686	8.1	1.21×About typical	3,288	$71,375	3,512
Offices of physicians	608	7.2	1.11×About typical	8,712	$88,676	648

Rank places for an industry Open Lee County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 846,125 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Public schools

Public schools located in Harlem Heights, Florida and the districts that run them (NCES Common Core of Data). Students per teacher counts full-time-equivalent teachers, not the size of each class.

Harlem Heights, Florida has 2 public schools with 1,266 students and 18.8 students per teacher (Florida: 18.1, US: 15.2).

17% of students attend one of its 1 charter schools.

2 schools serve free meals to every student.

Elementary schools: 2
Middle schools: 0
High schools: 0
Students per teacher: 18.8; US: 15.2

School districts

Districts with schools here, by students here.

District	Schools	Students	Spending / student
Lee	2	1,266	$12,384

Largest schools

School	Grades	Students	Students / teacher	District
Heights Elementary SchoolFree meals for all	Pre-K–5	1,057	19.2	Lee
Harlem Heights Community Charter SchoolCharterFree meals for all	K–5	209	17.1	Lee

All 2 schools

Sources

Public schools and school districts (National Center for Education Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau), 2024–25 school year. NCES Common Core of Data and EDGE public school geocodes; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances and cartographic boundary files (places).

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$5,379 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Harlem Heights, Florida: -$4.79 per resident (US $2,158).

Obligations: -$5,379; −248% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$4.79; US $2,158
Sole-source: —; US 31%
Single offer: —; US 8.9%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Consumer Product Safety Commission$6430.0%

Top recipients

LEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION, INC.$6430.0%
KANADA US LLC-$20.760.0%
WASTE MANAGEMENT INC. OF FLORIDA-$35.280.0%
TREMBLAY THOMAS R-$1310.0%
MCGREGOR PARK PLAZA, INC-$1320.0%
COUNTY OF LEE-$1,7110.0%
NHC-FL5 L.P.-$1,8510.0%
FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY-$2,1410.0%

Spending by fiscal year

3.2KFY2017
6.9KFY2018
5.4KFY2019
16.7KFY2020
2.3KFY2021
2KFY2022
54.5KFY2023
25.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182$6430.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 22, 2026, loaded Oct 22, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Harlem Heights, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Harlem Heights, Florida's figures are part of those of Lee County, FL ($122.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Harlem Heights is mostly in Lee County.

See federal money in Lee County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Harlem Heights, Florida is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lee County61100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL64

Other cities and towns in Lee County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
National Broadband Map (Broadband Data Collection)Federal Communications Commission · release 2025-12-31
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1228937

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends