Borough · Middlesex County, New Jersey

Highland Park, New Jersey

Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area. It has 15,121 residents. Highland Park, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 86 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,176 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #210 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on depression (low), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and frequent mental distress (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), social associations (low) and comfortable days (low).

86Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,176 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #210 of 552 in NJ
Population: 15,121 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 8,303.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3431470

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety84#2,464/15,637
Economy80#3,105/15,631
Housing40#9,035/14,977
Health96#580/15,609
Healthcare76#3,700/15,650
Environment35#10,074/15,453
Education93#1,026/15,649
Infrastructure96#650/15,650
Community72#4,399/15,651
Leisure & amenities40#9,371/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Highland Park, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Middlesex 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

Depression · low13.9%
99/100New Jersey 15.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
97/100New Jersey 11 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMiddlesex County value
Frequent mental distress · low13.6%
96/100New Jersey 16.1%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Public transit commuters · high7.8%
96/100New Jersey 8.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Bachelor's degree or higher · high69.8%
96/100New Jersey 43.6%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Broadband subscriptions · high98.1%
96/100New Jersey 92.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.79%
1/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Social associations · low6.1 /10k
12/100New Jersey 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMiddlesex County value
Comfortable days · low23.5%
13/100New Jersey 24.9%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMiddlesex County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100New Jersey 2.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.3 /10k
16/100New Jersey 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMiddlesex County value
Average commute time · high27.1 min
19/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Trends

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

PopulationRising
13,883 (2015-2019) → 15,121 (2020-2024)
+8.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
0.4 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
49.2% (2015-2019) → 40.2% (2020-2024)
−9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$81,402 (2015-2019) → $104,694 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
11.4% (2015-2019) → 6.8% (2020-2024)
−4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
93.6% (2015-2019) → 98.1% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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 Park, New Jersey improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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

Broadband+4.5 points93.6% → 98.1%

Declined1

Uninsured+4 points4.4% → 8.4%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Highland Park, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.5 min2015-2019	27.1 min2020-2024	−3.4 min	Within the margin of error	82%
Bachelor's degree or higher	71.2%2015-2019	69.8%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	93.6%2015-2019	98.1%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Improved	28%
Effective property tax rate	2.96%2015-2019	2.79%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	51%
High school diploma or higher	96.1%2015-2019	93.5%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Home price to income ratio	4.6×2015-2019	4.5×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4662015-2019	0.4312020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$81,4022015-2019	$104,6942020-2024	+29%	Within the margin of error	52%
Poverty rate	10.0%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Public transit commuters	8.7%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent-burdened households	49.2%2015-2019	40.2%2020-2024	−9 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Unemployment rate	5.6%2015-2019	4.8%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.4%2015-2019	8.4%2020-2024	+4 points	Declined	14%

“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 Park, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Highland Park, New Jersey 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 Park, New Jersey itself moved +7 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

15,121 residents (±33)

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

6,436 households (±404)

Highland Park, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k13%†860
$25k–50k6.1%†390
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,436 households (±404)

Highland Park, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own40%2,593
Rent60%3,843

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

8,723 workers (±503)

Highland Park, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone52%4,550
Carpool6.4%†561
Public transit7.8%†678

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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

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 Middlesex County, the county holding most of Highland Park's residents.

Middlesex County has 22,314 employer establishments, 256 for every 10,000 residents (1.03× the US rate of 248; 1.01× New Jersey's), with 434,143 paid employees at an average annual pay of $77,557. The Census Bureau also counts 82,101 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 22,314; 82,101 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 256; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 434,143
Average annual pay: $77,557; US $68,342

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

Computer systems design and related services	1,983	22.7	5.24×More than typical	37,086	$106,772	2,301
Ambulatory health care services	1,966	22.5	1.08×About typical	20,279	$64,203	3,408
Restaurants and other eating places	1,585	18.1	0.99×About typical	20,549	$25,512	520
Specialty trade contractors	988	11.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	10,862	$81,369	3,097
Truck transportation	808	9.3	1.83×More than typical	9,620	$61,733	4,255
Limited-service restaurants	709	8.1	1.01×About typical	8,337	$23,749	201
Lessors of real estate	696	8	0.65×Fewer than typical	4,925	$73,373	9,176
Management, scientific and technical consulting	691	7.9	1.18×About typical	5,298	$97,375	3,711
Offices of physicians	680	7.8	1.20×About typical	5,739	$89,466	640
Full-service restaurants	660	7.6	0.98×About typical	9,614	$28,639	232
Personal care services	636	7.3	1.53×More than typical	3,179	$23,497	1,768
Services to buildings and dwellings	572	6.6	0.97×About typical	5,046	$44,023	2,681

Rank places for an industry Open Middlesex County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 873,281 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Highland Park, New Jersey: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

205.4KFY2017
239.8KFY2018
144KFY2019
96KFY2020
-86KFY2022
5.6KFY2023
-5.2KFY2024

What was bought

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 Park, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

Highland Park, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Middlesex County, NJ ($395.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Middlesex 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 Park, New Jersey is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Middlesex County81100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ68

Other cities and towns in Middlesex 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/3431470

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends