Photo: Toinfin · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Highland Park works elsewhere
There are 2,342 jobs in Highland Park for 5,880 working residents. Highland Park grades A− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Highland Park is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Highland Park: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Highland Park works from home
26% of Highland Park workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Highland Park is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 5% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Highland Park’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highland Park is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #235 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Highland Park’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Highland Park could be anywhere from B to A+.
Getting to work from Highland Park 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 Park workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,416 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.
In Highland Park, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland Park, 2014 → 2024: 2,478 → 2,342. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Highland Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Highland Park
On a workday 5,574 residents head out to work, 306 work right here, and 2,036 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Highland Park on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Edison Township
Where Highland Park clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
5% 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.
Half of Highland Park commutes less than 11 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Highland Park
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highland Park is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #52 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Highland Park 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 8,723 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 13.9% of Highland Park households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Highland Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
672nd of 2,109: where Highland Park ranks among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Franklin Lakes NJ | 11,180 | $236K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | East Greenwich Township NJ | 12,610 | $149K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 670 | Mountain Park GA | 12,850 | $96K | 12.9% | 2.3% | 2% | A− |
| 671 | Maumelle AR | 19,780 | $103K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 9% | A− |
| 672 | Highland Park NJ | 15,259 | $105K | 7.5% | 4.8% | 5% | A− |
| 673 | Morristown NJ | 20,750 | $121K | 7.8% | 5.3% | 14% | A− |
| 674 | Tarrytown NY | 11,890 | $107K | 7.9% | 4.8% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Park, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
The towns next door employ 17% of Highland Park
The biggest share goes to Edison Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Park | – | A− | A+ | 27 min | $104,694 |
| New Brunswick | 8% | C | A+ | 23 min | $65,810 |
| Edison Township | 9% | A− | A+ | 34 min | $125,145 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Highland Park’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 2024, 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 Park: questions
What is the median household income in Highland Park?
$104,694 (±$24,486) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland Park?
7.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland Park?
27 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 Highland Park work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Edison Township (9%, 4 mi), New Brunswick (8%, 1 mi), New York City (5%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Highland Park walkable?
Highland Park is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland Park without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highland Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland Park
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.