Photo: Eric Ward from Provo, UT, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Highland top those of 98% of U.S. towns
Highland grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The poverty rate is 1.9%, where Utah as a whole has 8.5%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 7.6 in Provo.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Highland: the gist
Jobs & income in Highland: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highland is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #18 of 119 in Utah. Household income is its strongest input ($186,075, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, 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, Highland could be anywhere from A to A+.
Inside Highland’s 3,468 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland, 2013 → 2023: 2,731 → 3,468. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Highland: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 8,363 residents head out to work, 399 work right here, and 3,069 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Highland on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.40 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.
12% of working residents work in Lehi
Where Highland clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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.
Commuting from Highland: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,505 commuters (the 23% who work from home are left out). Across Utah: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Half of Highland commutes less than 11 miles
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Highland
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highland is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #41 of 119 in Utah. Both inputs place Highland 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 8,478 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 1.0% of Highland households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Highland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Highland places 173rd of 1,787 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Bluffdale UT | 19,506 | $130K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Centerville UT | 16,480 | $123K | 3.1% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | Scio Township MI | 18,597 | $130K | 6.4% | 2.0% | 7% | A |
| 172 | Mays Chapel MD | 16,066 | $127K | 2.8% | 3.9% | 3% | A |
| 173 | Highland UT | 21,571 | $186K | 1.9% | 3.9% | 5% | A |
| 174 | Keystone FL | 25,858 | $161K | 3.9% | 3.2% | 4% | A |
| 175 | Lone Tree CO | 15,278 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 180 | Mapleton UT | 16,275 | $133K | 2.7% | 2.3% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | 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 Highland, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
Work next door: 24% of Highland’s workers
The biggest share goes to Lehi (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland | – | A | A− | 23 min | $186,075 |
| American Fork | 7% | A− | A− | 23 min | $98,878 |
| Alpine | under 3% | A | B− | 30 min | $168,929 |
| Lehi | 12% | A | B+ | 24 min | $131,299 |
| Cedar Hills | under 3% | A | B | 22 min | $139,008 |
| Draper | 5% | A | A− | 24 min | $128,910 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Highland’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: questions
What is the median household income in Highland?
$186,075 (±$13,861) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland?
1.9%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lehi (12%, 4 mi), Salt Lake City (11%, 25 mi), Provo (7%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Highland walkable?
Highland is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland
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.