Photo: Alexisrael · CC BY-SA 3.0Highland Falls has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 832 jobs in Highland Falls; 1,578 of its residents have a job. Highland Falls grades B+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Highland Falls is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Highland Falls, in a few figures
Highland Falls’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Highland Falls is New York City, 49 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (374) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Highland Falls are quick
The average trip to work takes 26 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Highland Falls’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highland Falls is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #278 of 758 in New York. Household income holds Highland Falls’ grade up ($110,714, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Highland Falls could be anywhere from B− to A+.
How far it is to work from Highland Falls
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.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Highland Falls
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 Falls workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,843 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who works in Highland Falls, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,425 residents head out to work, 153 work right here, and 679 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Highland Falls on a workday afternoon, 21% 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 2023, primary jobs.
24% of working residents work in New York City
Where Highland Falls clocks in
24% of workers
21% 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.
Most jobs in Highland Falls are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland Falls, 2013 → 2023: 776 → 832. 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 Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Highland Falls gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highland Falls is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #379 of 758 in New York. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,097 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 70% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 36% 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). 3.5% of Highland Falls households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Highland Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
Highland Falls places 1,423rd of 4,474 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,421 | Hogansville GA | 3,290 | $63K | 5.7% | 0.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,422 | Hensley Township IN | 4,086 | $91K | 2.5% | 6.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,423 | Highland Falls NY | 3,631 | $111K | 7.2% | 6.6% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,424 | Hamburg PA | 4,551 | $55K | 2.4% | 3.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,425 | Woolwich ME | 3,287 | $102K | 13.3% | 1.8% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | 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 Highland Falls, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work in the towns next to Highland Falls
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Falls | – | B+ | B+ | 26 min | $110,714 |
| West Point | under 2% | — | — | 10 min | — |
| Fort Montgomery | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West Point and Fort Montgomery: 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 Highland Falls’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 Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Highland Falls?
$110,714 (±$16,202) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland Falls?
7.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland Falls?
26 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland Falls work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (24%, 49 mi), Highlands (21%, 2 mi), Clarkstown (4%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Highland Falls walkable?
Highland Falls is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland Falls without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 36% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highland Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland Falls
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.