Montrose · Photo: Pubdog · Public domainMaking a living in Highland
Employers in Highland report 290 jobs, against 497 working residents. Hardly any work in Highland; the top destination outside it is Columbia (12%, 5 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 30 minutes; Maryland averages 31, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Highland
On a workday 493 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 286 people come in from elsewhere.
About 770 people are in Highland on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Highland ends
Where Highland clocks in
7% 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.
What Highland’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland, 2013 → 2023: 259 → 290. 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.
Highland’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 342 commuters (the 25% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from Highland
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.
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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- 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?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland?
3.4%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (12%, 5 mi), Baltimore (7%, 20 mi), Fulton (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Highland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.