Ibach House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainJobs and the daily commute in Highland
About one in ten work in Highland itself; outside it, Hammond draws the most (9%, 5 miles). Highland grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, where Indiana has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Highland apart
Highland trades workers with the towns around it
Highland has about as many jobs (9,298) as working residents (10,475), but they are mostly different people: 9,344 residents leave for work each day while 8,167 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Highland are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Highland’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 26 minutes, longer than the Indiana average of 24. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Highland
61% of Highland residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Highland pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Highland’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highland is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #227 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Highland’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Highland could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Highland
On a workday 9,344 residents head out to work, 1,131 work right here, and 8,167 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 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.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Highland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,322 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Jobs in Highland: what the 9,298 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland, 2013 → 2023: 8,294 → 9,298. 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.
Where Highland goes to work
Where Highland clocks in
9% of workers
9% 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.
Highland’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Highland is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highland is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #57 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Highland near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,280 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). 5.3% of Highland households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Highland’s commuters take a bus or train.
996th of 1,780: where Highland ranks among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 32,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Vernon Township IN | 20,047 | $108K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 234 | Sugar Creek Township IN | 18,299 | $101K | 5.6% | 2.0% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 994 | Bear DE | 22,370 | $92K | 8.7% | 5.9% | 3% | B |
| 995 | Coralville IA | 23,960 | $69K | 13.0% | 2.2% | 16% | B |
| 996 | Highland IN | 23,409 | $78K | 11.6% | 4.7% | 11% | B |
| 997 | Taylors SC | 24,505 | $77K | 10.6% | 4.0% | 3% | B |
| 998 | New Windsor NY | 27,844 | $95K | 5.4% | 8.9% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,780 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Indiana.
Highland and its neighbors: 20% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland | – | B | A− | 26 min | $78,062 |
| Hammond | 9% | C | A− | 26 min | $55,504 |
| Calumet Township | under 3% | C− | B | 27 min | $46,882 |
| North Township | under 3% | C+ | A− | 26 min | $61,798 |
| Griffith | under 3% | A− | B− | 28 min | $76,636 |
| Munster | 7% | A− | A | 28 min | $110,187 |
| Gary | 4% | C− | B | 26 min | $38,731 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Hammond. Darker towns draw more of Highland’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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?
$78,062 (±$6,342) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland?
11.6%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hammond (9%, 5 mi), Chicago (9%, 23 mi), Munster (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Highland walkable?
Highland is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% 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.