Photo: Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Highlands costs more to live in than 93% of U.S. towns
It ranks #622 of 757 in New York for affordability. Builders were permitted 1 new home in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY metro area ($98K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 2 sales in May 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Highlands’ area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($98K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 34% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 55% of renters.
In dollars
- 109prices across the Kiryas Joel metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 116)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.4 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$98K, Kiryas Joel-area income
- 32%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 55%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New York: 52%Census 2020–24
- 34%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Highlands
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Highlands gained 447 residents while 65 new homes were permitted: about 6.9 new residents per new home, against 2.2 across New York. New homes ↓
Very little new building
Highlands permitted 40 new homes over the past 10 years, about 0.3 a year per 1,000 residents. Across New York, the pace in 2025 was 1.8. In 2025, Highlands permitted 1. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Highlands, so the typical value is the Census median; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Highlands’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Highlands is more affordable than 7% of U.S. towns, #622 of 757 in New York. Rent pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
A year’s rent takes 32% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Highlands’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Highlands home, with $12K to spare.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, the New York typical property tax (1.55% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
Renters pay a median $2,640 a month
HUD doesn’t publish rents for this area.
Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1 new home permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1 new home in Highlands in 2025, worth about $2 million to build. That's 0.1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across New York (1.8). Over the past 10 years, Highlands has permitted 40 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Highlands gained 447 residents while 65 new homes were permitted: about 6.9 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across New York: 2.2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 3 | 1 | 2 | $354,000 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2024 | 5 | 3 | 2 | $823,000 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 2 | $250,000 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $600,000 |
| 2021 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $885,000 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $275,000 |
| 2019 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $335,000 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $335,000 |
| 2017 | 8 | 6 | 2 | $1.4 million |
| 2016 | 9 | 7 | 2 | $1.6 million |
| 2015 | 9 | 7 | 2 | $1.6 million |
| 2014 | 12 | 8 | 4 | $1.5 million |
| 2013 | 10 | 6 | 4 | $1.2 million |
| 2012 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $610,000 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2010 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $825,000 |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $400,000 |
| 2008 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $330,000 |
| 2007 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $6.5 million |
| 2006 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $694,000 |
| 2005 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $694,000 |
| 2004 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $694,000 |
| 2003 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2002 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2001 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2000 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.1 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the New York norm
The median bill is $10,000+ (New York: $6,582), 2.96%+ of a home’s value a year, against 1.55% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Highlands
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY metro area, or New York. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 109 | NY 108 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 110 | NY 107 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 137 | NY 134 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 107 | NY 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Electricity cents per kWh, homes | 29.9¢ | U.S. 18.3¢ | state | EIA, July 2026 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Highlands vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Highlands. Philipstown and Woodbury and Woodbury have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands | D | — | $338K | 2.96%+ | — |
| Philipstown | D | — | $615K | 1.63%+ | $3,150 |
| Cornwall | D | $528K | $445K | 2.25%+ | $2,140 |
| Woodbury | D | — | $452K | 2.21%+ | $2,440 |
| Woodbury | – | — | $444K | 2.25%+ | $2,440 |
| Stony Point | D | $660K | $526K | 1.90%+ | $2,840 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Highlands
Is Highlands expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Highlands costs more than 93% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #622 of 757 in New York. The typical home costs 3.4 years of the median household income of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY metro area ($98K).
How much is rent in Highlands?
Renters already here pay a median of $2,640 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Highlands?
The median bill is $10,000+ a year, 2.96% of the median home value (New York: $6,582, 1.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Highlands buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.