Carlisle is a medium-sized borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 22,203 people and ten associated neighborhoods, Carlisle is the 43rd largest community in Pennsylvania. Carlisle has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs.

Also of interest is that Carlisle 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: 10.81% 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.

Carlisle is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Carlisle enrolled in college, Carlisle has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.

Carlisle, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the borough.

The population of Carlisle 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: 38.36% of adults in Carlisle have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Carlisle in 2022 was $34,552, which is middle income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $138,208 for a family of four. However, Carlisle contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Carlisle is a very ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Carlisle home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Carlisle residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Carlisle include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Carlisle is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Serbo-Croatian.