Fewer people are out of work in Highland (1.0%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
Highland grades A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in four work in Highland; the top destination outside it is St. Louis (7%, 32 miles). The trip to work takes 27 minutes on average, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Highland: the figures worth knowing
No single place dominates Highland’s commute
The biggest draw, St. Louis, MO, gets only 7% of working residents, and 50% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Highland residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Highland draws workers from far and wide
The 5,852 jobs in Highland are filled from a wide area. Highland’s own residents hold 19% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Highland’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highland is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #193 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($82,551, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Highland could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Where Highland goes to work
Where Highland clocks in
7% of workers
4% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
In and out of Highland on a workday
On a workday 3,675 residents head out to work, 1,120 work right here, and 4,732 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Highland on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Inside Highland’s 5,852 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland, 2013 → 2023: 5,725 → 5,852. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Highland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Highland takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,973 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Short hops and long hauls from Highland
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Highland: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highland is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #530 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,539 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.4% of Highland households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Highland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000, Highland comes 686th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 684 | Tallmadge Township MI | 9,188 | $101K | 6.3% | 3.4% | 6% | A− |
| 685 | West Donegal Township PA | 9,182 | $90K | 6.1% | 2.7% | 10% | A− |
| 686 | Highland IL | 10,042 | $83K | 6.0% | 1.0% | 23% | A− |
| 687 | Pitman NJ | 8,961 | $98K | 3.1% | 5.4% | 6% | A− |
| 688 | Sagamore Hills Township OH | 10,868 | $91K | 8.6% | 2.4% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Highland, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Highland: questions
What is the median household income in Highland?
$82,551 (±$12,519) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland?
6.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (7%, 32 mi), Edwardsville (4%, 16 mi), Belleville (3%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Highland walkable?
Highland is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.