Photo: Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Highlands have higher incomes than those in 86% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Highlands; the top destination outside it is New York City (33%, 49 miles). 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 14.0% for New York as a whole. Jobs and income earn Highlands A−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Highlands: the gist
Commutes from Highlands are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker, and quicker than any town next door (31 to 43 minutes). Time on the road ↓
One in three of Highlands works in New York City
1,232 working residents, 33%, have their main job in New York City, 49 miles away. That’s twice as many as work in Highlands itself. The commute map ↓
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.
The four measures behind Highlands’ grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highlands is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #128 of 758 in New York. Household income is its strongest input ($116,111, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, 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, Highlands could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
From Highlands, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highlands workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,813 commuters (the 18% 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.
Commuting out of Highlands: the destinations
Where Highlands clocks in
33% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
In and out of Highlands on a workday
On a workday 3,196 residents head out to work, 549 work right here, and 1,699 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Highlands on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
Highlands is a services town
2,248 jobs are based in Highlands.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highlands, 2013 → 2023: 1,810 → 2,248. 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 Highlands’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Highlands to work
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Highlands is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highlands is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #134 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 19.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 9.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,060 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% 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). 3.7% of Highlands households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Highlands’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, Highlands ranks 613th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Floral Park NY | 16,105 | $150K | 3.0% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 611 | Westchester IL | 16,300 | $99K | 5.0% | 5.2% | 3% | A− |
| 612 | Raynham MA | 16,579 | $124K | 7.7% | 3.9% | 8% | A− |
| 613 | Highlands NY | 12,678 | $116K | 4.5% | 4.2% | 15% | A− |
| 614 | Grosse Pointe Woods MI | 15,792 | $126K | 4.9% | 5.8% | 6% | A− |
| 615 | Friendly MD | 11,119 | $128K | 3.0% | 7.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Highlands, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns around Highlands
The biggest share goes to Stony Point (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highlands workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands | – | A− | A | 19 min | $116,111 |
| Philipstown | under 2% | A− | A | 40 min | $140,557 |
| Cornwall | under 2% | A− | A− | 31 min | $114,635 |
| Woodbury | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 43 min | $121,221 |
| Woodbury | under 2% | — | — | 41 min | — |
| Stony Point | 1% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $126,958 |
Same-state neighbors only. Woodbury: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of 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 Highlands: questions
What is the median household income in Highlands?
$116,111 (±$10,551) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highlands?
4.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highlands?
19 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highlands work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (33%, 49 mi), Ramapo (3%, 17 mi), Clarkstown (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Highlands walkable?
Highlands is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highlands without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highlands, from the people who make the trip.
More of 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.