Census-designated place · Vanderburgh County, Indiana

Highland (CDP), Indiana

Highland is a census-designated place in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, part of the Evansville, IN metro area. It has 5,114 residents. Highland (CDP), Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 54 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,196 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #89 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on flu vaccinations (high), income inequality (Gini index) (low) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on violent crime rate (high), comfortable days (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

54Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,196 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #89 of 353 in IN
Population: 5,114 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 2,255.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1833484

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety13#13,624/15,637
Economy56#6,931/15,631
Housing86#2,116/14,977
Health42#8,985/15,609
Healthcare71#4,481/15,650
Environment14#13,264/15,453
Education53#7,370/15,649
Infrastructure65#5,543/15,650
Community58#6,569/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,339/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Highland (CDP), Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Vanderburgh County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Flu vaccinations · high57.0%
97/100Indiana 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVanderburgh County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.333
95/100Indiana 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100Indiana 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVanderburgh County value
Pharmacies · high2.6 /10k
92/100Indiana 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsVanderburgh County value
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.3%
91/100Indiana 8.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAVanderburgh County value

Weaknesses

Violent crime rate · high888 /100k
1/100Indiana 254 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationVanderburgh County value
Comfortable days · low22.8%
6/100Indiana 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationVanderburgh County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.2 µg/m³
8/100Indiana 8.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyVanderburgh County value
Distance to an airport · high99 mi
10/100Indiana 38 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauVanderburgh County value
Voter turnout · low54.7%
11/100Indiana 59.4%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionVanderburgh County value
Property crime rate · high2,151 /100k
11/100Indiana 1,052 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationVanderburgh County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
4,609 (2015-2019) → 5,114 (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
65.8% (2015-2019) → 13.4% (2020-2024)
−52 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
25.8% (2015-2019) → 18.7% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$74,357 (2015-2019) → $98,002 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
31.2% (2015-2019) → 26.9% (2020-2024)
−4.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
5.1% (2015-2019) → 2.3% (2020-2024)
−2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Highland (CDP), Indiana improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+32%$74,357 → $98,002

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Highland (CDP), Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.6 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Within the margin of error	65%
Bachelor's degree or higher	31.8%2015-2019	31.9%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Broadband subscriptions	92.5%2015-2019	91.4%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Effective property tax rate	0.93%2015-2019	0.85%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	30%
High school diploma or higher	96.3%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	65%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3622015-2019	0.3332020-2024	−0.030	Within the margin of error	74%
Median household income	$74,3572015-2019	$98,0022020-2024	+32%	Improved	59%
Rent as share of income	31.2%2015-2019	26.9%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Highland (CDP), Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Highland (CDP), Indiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Highland (CDP), Indiana itself moved +0.6 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

5,114 residents (±870)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,928 households (±311)

Highland (CDP), Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k7.9%†153
$25k–50k7.1%†137
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,928 households (±311)

Highland (CDP), Indiana
Indiana share

Own91%1,756
Rent8.9%†172

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,391 workers (±436)

Highland (CDP), Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone82%1,949
Carpool8.4%†201
Public transit0.8%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Evansville, IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Vanderburgh County, the county holding most of Highland's residents.

Vanderburgh County has 5,102 employer establishments, 283 for every 10,000 residents (1.14× the US rate of 248; 1.25× Indiana's), with 110,804 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,687. The Census Bureau also counts 11,889 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,102; 11,889 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 283; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 110,804
Average annual pay: $54,687; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Vanderburgh County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	506	28.1	1.35×More than typical	7,319	$72,799	465
Restaurants and other eating places	383	21.2	1.16×About typical	9,018	$19,944	54
Specialty trade contractors	274	15.2	0.98×About typical	6,323	$71,902	575
Lessors of real estate	191	10.6	0.86×About typical	746	$47,602	1,379
Limited-service restaurants	189	10.5	1.31×More than typical	4,323	$17,460	26
Offices of physicians	177	9.8	1.52×More than typical	2,816	$106,792	131
Religious organizations	164	9.1	1.64×More than typical	2,001	$25,775	—
Full-service restaurants	147	8.2	1.06×About typical	3,978	$21,951	21
Offices of other health practitioners	141	7.8	1.29×More than typical	1,319	$50,374	198
Services to buildings and dwellings	131	7.3	1.08×About typical	1,422	$30,788	818
Construction of buildings	129	7.2	0.95×About typical	988	$61,148	278
Building equipment contractors	118	6.5	1.09×About typical	4,634	$76,256	66

Rank places for an industry Open Vanderburgh County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 180,246 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $19.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Highland (CDP), Indiana: $3,824 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $19.6M; −33% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3,824; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$18.5M95%
Department of the Army$403.7K2.1%
Agricultural Marketing Service$387.1K2.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$244.3K1.2%
Bureau of Engraving and Printing$2,6250.0%

Top recipients

AMERIQUAL GROUP LLC$18.5M95%
NOREAS ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LLC$402.1K2.1%
AMERIQUAL GROUP, LLC$387.1K2.0%
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA OF INDIANA, INC.$244.3K1.2%
ARMADA OPTICAL SERVICES INC$2,6250.0%

Spending by fiscal year

10.7MFY2017
21.4MFY2018
20.7MFY2019
21MFY2020
15.8MFY2021
21.1MFY2022
20.2MFY2023
21M

Top industries (NAICS)

Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing · 3114$14.7M75%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$3.4M18%
Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing · 3118$781.1K4.0%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$402.1K2.1%
Other residential care facilities · 6239$244.3K1.2%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$2,615

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Highland (CDP), Indiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Highland (CDP), Indiana's figures are part of those of Vanderburgh County, IN ($204.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 9.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Highland is mostly in Vanderburgh County.

See federal money in Vanderburgh County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Highland (CDP), Indiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mark B. MessmerR-IN-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Vanderburgh County51100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Evansville, IN62

Other cities and towns in Vanderburgh County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1833484

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends