Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hightstown grades B+ overall, 203rd among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 92% of the country. The median household earns $109K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $468K, 4.7 years of the Trenton metro’s $101K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. On hazard risk, just 49 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. Hightstown is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. Hightstown's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 97% of U.S. towns.
Where Hightstown beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Hightstown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 970 in 1860, 5,900 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hightstown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw10 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw38 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
Big draw35 mi MuseumLynnewood Hall
Big draw40 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a yearConey Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Six Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · USS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Pine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hightstown, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Hightstown.
Hightstown trades workers with New York City and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding).
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 63% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
24% of Hightstown adults have obesity, below both New Jersey’s towns (28%) and U.S. towns (35%). 27% of Hightstown adults have high blood pressure. Hightstown beats the New Jersey average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Hightstown | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Hightstown | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4% | 5.1% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.4% | 5.6% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73.1% | 77.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the East Windsor Regional School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hightstown High School, with 1,616 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace N. Rogers Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 591 | C+ |
| Hightstown High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,616 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
On this, Hightstown is where New Jersey’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. 1.3 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Hightstown’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Hightstown | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rocky Brook Park | 0.1 mi | 3 |
| 2. Association Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
| 3. Dawes Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $589 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Hightstown is 83 of 100. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hightstown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 10.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 58% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 43 to 35 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Hightstown has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Hightstown home is worth about $468,000, up 3.8% in a year, 19% below the New Jersey typical home.
| Hightstown | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,606 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 77% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hightstown has about as many jobs (2,348) as working residents, but only 248 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 23.6 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Hightstown for work: only 9% work in town. 2.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Hightstown. The top destinations are New York (6%), South Brunswick Township (5%) and East Windsor Township (5%).
| Hightstown | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.1% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (40% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). 40% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Hightstown | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 45% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Hightstown | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.2% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.3% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.7% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.7% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.2% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 10% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.8% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.8% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
8 within 15 miles of the center of Hightstown
About 7 of every 100 Hightstown residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
3 places in Hightstown on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Hightstown.
Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, US
Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nestled within the Raritan Valley region, Hightstown is an historic, commercial, and cultural hub of Central New Jersey, along with being a diverse outer-ring commuter suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,900, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 406 (+7.4%) from the 5,494 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 278 (+5.3%) from the 5,216 counted in the 2000 census. Hightstown was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1853, within portions of East…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hightstown grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #203 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Nick Williams and Eli Thompson Fryer.
