Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Atlantic Highlands are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
Atlantic Highlands grades A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Poverty touches 4.6% of residents, where New Jersey as a whole has 9.7%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Atlantic Highlands apart on work
Atlantic Highlands workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Atlantic Highlands
26% of Atlantic Highlands workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Atlantic Highlands has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Atlantic Highlands went from 930 in 2013 to 1,349 in 2023, +45%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Atlantic Highlands’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Atlantic Highlands is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #133 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income is its strongest input ($126,080, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Atlantic Highlands could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Atlantic Highlands’ commute takes about 41 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Atlantic Highlands workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,625 commuters (the 26% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Inside Atlantic Highlands’ 1,349 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Atlantic Highlands, 2013 → 2023: 930 → 1,349. 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 Atlantic Highlands’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Atlantic Highlands
On a workday 1,826 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 1,225 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in Atlantic Highlands on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
14% of working residents work in New York City
Where Atlantic Highlands clocks in
14% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
How far Atlantic Highlands goes to work
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Atlantic Highlands
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Atlantic Highlands is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #11 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Atlantic Highlands 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 2,196 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 48% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 4.1% of Atlantic Highlands households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 24% of Atlantic Highlands’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,000, Atlantic Highlands ranks 434th of 4,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Mountain Lakes NJ | 4,649 | $250K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 432 | Dakota Dunes SD | 3,936 | $136K | 2.4% | 3.4% | 16% | A |
| 433 | Sunnyslope WA | 3,706 | $136K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 1% | A |
| 434 | Atlantic Highlands NJ | 4,417 | $126K | 4.6% | 3.9% | 6% | A |
| 435 | Fox Chapel PA | 5,139 | $244K | 3.2% | 5.6% | 3% | A |
| 436 | Sandia Heights NM | 3,160 | $144K | 4.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,000 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Atlantic Highlands, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Around Atlantic Highlands: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Middletown Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Atlantic Highlands workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Highlands | – | A | A+ | 41 min | $126,080 |
| Middletown Township | 8% | A− | A | 35 min | $141,810 |
| Navesink | under 2% | — | — | 47 min | — |
| Highlands | under 2% | B− | A+ | 35 min | $91,913 |
| Leonardo | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Navesink and Leonardo: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Atlantic Highlands’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 Atlantic Highlands: questions
What is the median household income in Atlantic Highlands?
$126,080 (±$14,636) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Atlantic Highlands?
4.6%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Atlantic Highlands?
41 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Atlantic Highlands work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (14%, 18 mi), Middletown Township (8%, 3 mi), Red Bank (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Atlantic Highlands walkable?
Atlantic Highlands is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 26% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Atlantic Highlands without a car?
24% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 48% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Atlantic Highlands, from the people who make the trip.
More of Atlantic Highlands
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.