Harrisonburg is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 51,082 people and 16 associated neighborhoods, Harrisonburg is the 17th largest community in Virginia.Unlike some cities, Harrisonburg isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Harrisonburg are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Harrisonburg is a city of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Harrisonburg who work in food service (10.01%), sales jobs (7.99%), and teaching (7.84%). Also of interest is that Harrisonburg has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 8.64% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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. Harrisonburg is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Harrisonburg have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Harrisonburg’s economy is one such example of this. Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 17.97 minutes getting to work every day.The population of Harrisonburg is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 36.74% of adults in Harrisonburg have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Harrisonburg in 2022 was $27,957, which is lower middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $111,828 for a family of four. However, Harrisonburg contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Harrisonburg is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Harrisonburg home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Harrisonburg residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Harrisonburg also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 23.09% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Harrisonburg include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Swiss. Foreign born people are also an important part of Harrisonburg's cultural character, accounting for 17.33% of the city’s population. The most common language spoken in Harrisonburg is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Slavic languages.
