Scores by category

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

Safety50#7,862/15,637
Economy89#1,775/15,631
Housing39#9,208/14,977
Health86#2,256/15,609
Healthcare79#3,258/15,650
Environment11#13,776/15,453
Education60#6,333/15,649
Infrastructure75#3,946/15,650
Community88#1,939/15,651
Leisure & amenities70#4,701/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
99/100New Jersey 11 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMercer County value
Depression · low15.3%
98/100New Jersey 15.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.4%
97/100New Jersey 95.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMercer County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,816
96/100New Jersey $1,659United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMercer County value
Poverty rate · low2.1%
96/100New Jersey 9.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult obesity · low24.0%
95/100New Jersey 29.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.68%
1/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Drought exposure · high77%
15/100New Jersey 61%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMercer County value
Drug overdose deaths · high24.1 /100k
19/100New Jersey 15.8 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMercer County value
Property crime rate · high1,710 /100k
21/100New Jersey 1,250 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMercer County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.7
22/100New Jersey 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMercer County value
Days with unhealthy air · high1.6%
23/100New Jersey 0.8%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMercer County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
5,375 (2015-2019) → 5,920 (2020-2024)
+10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
65.2% (2015-2019) → 30.3% (2020-2024)
−35 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
45.7% (2015-2019) → 21.6% (2020-2024)
−24 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.8% (2015-2019) → 93.4% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
13.8% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.3 /1k (2021) → 0.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−51%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

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, Hightstown, New Jersey improved on 6 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved6

Rent / income−24 points45.7% → 21.6%
Rent burden−35 points65.2% → 30.3%
Uninsured−10 points20.2% → 10.1%
Poverty−8.7 points10.8% → 2.1%
Broadband+17 points76.8% → 93.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Hightstown, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.0 min2015-2019	23.6 min2020-2024	−3.3 min	Within the margin of error	81%
Bachelor's degree or higher	41.0%2015-2019	39.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	76.8%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	3.39%2015-2019	2.68%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	97%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4382015-2019	0.3642020-2024	−0.074	Within the margin of error	91%
Median household income	$80,4102015-2019	$108,9872020-2024	+36%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	10.8%2015-2019	2.1%2020-2024	−8.7 points	Improved	91%
Rent as share of income	45.7%2015-2019	21.6%2020-2024	−24 points	Improved	99%
Rent-burdened households	65.2%2015-2019	30.3%2020-2024	−35 points	Improved	98%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.2%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	96%

“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 Hightstown, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hightstown, 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, Hightstown, New Jersey itself moved +29.4 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

5,920 residents (±34)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 women (+3.1 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

5,920 residents (±34)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

White59%3,464
Black7.1%†422
Hispanic or Latino24%†1,440
Asian6.5%†384
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races3.5%†210

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

4,278 residents (±358)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

No high school diploma12%†499
High school or GED30%†1,290
Some college10.0%†426
Associate degree8.6%†369
Bachelor's degree21%†890
Graduate degree19%†804

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Some college (−7.8 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

2,078 households (±192)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k3.6%†74
$25k–50k12%†242
$50k–75k11%†228
$75k–100k15%†308
$100k–150k24%†489
$150k–200k5.1%†107
$200k or more30%630

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+17.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,078 households (±192)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own72%1,504
Rent28%574

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.2 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

446 households (±166)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0003.4%†15
$1,000–1,50036%†161

Home values

1,504 homes (±191)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $150k7.0%†105
$150k–250k11%†171
$250k–400k49%†740

Age of homes

2,186 homes (±215)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–20097.1%†156
1980–199917%†376

Size of homes

2,186 homes (±215)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Studio1.3%†28
1 bedroom2.8%†62
2 bedrooms37%802

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,396 workers (±415)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone69%2,348
Carpool13%†437
Public transit0.4%†13
Walk5.2%†178
Bike0.3%†11
Work from home12%†398
Other0.3%†11

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Other (−6.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

2,998 workers (±422)

Hightstown, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under 15 min40%†1,204
15–29 min32%†948
30–44 min13%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Trenton-Princeton, 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 Mercer County, the county holding most of Hightstown's residents.

Mercer County has 9,683 employer establishments, 247 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 0.98× New Jersey's), with 208,192 paid employees at an average annual pay of $86,384. The Census Bureau also counts 35,660 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 9,683; 35,660 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 247; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 208,192
Average annual pay: $86,384; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	836	21.4	1.02×About typical	11,087	$67,986	1,473
Restaurants and other eating places	707	18.1	0.98×About typical	10,512	$24,976	248
Computer systems design and related services	453	11.6	2.67×More than typical	4,630	$120,746	633
Specialty trade contractors	395	10.1	0.65×Fewer than typical	3,072	$84,285	1,659
Services to buildings and dwellings	360	9.2	1.36×More than typical	2,696	$38,482	1,943
Management, scientific and technical consulting	335	8.6	1.28×More than typical	3,344	$108,148	1,883
Offices of physicians	313	8	1.24×About typical	3,284	$93,976	302
Lessors of real estate	312	8	0.65×Fewer than typical	2,124	$68,918	3,301
Full-service restaurants	301	7.7	1.00×About typical	5,297	$28,861	114
Construction of buildings	288	7.4	0.97×About typical	1,507	$93,035	1,067
Limited-service restaurants	284	7.3	0.90×About typical	3,853	$21,616	93
Personal care services	272	6.9	1.46×More than typical	1,555	$27,332	1,036

Rank places for an industry Open Mercer County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 391,369 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 $2,141 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hightstown, New Jersey: $0.36 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2,141; +120% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.36; 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

Department of the Army$2,220100%

Top recipients

RAVI ASSOCIATES LLC$2,220100%
SAFEGUARD DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION INC-$78.400.0%

Spending by fiscal year

4.1KFY2017
7.3KFY2018
87.7KFY2019
92KFY2020
35.4KFY2021
30.9KFY2022
4.5KFY2023
-35.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Utility system construction · 2371$2,220100%

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

Hightstown, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Mercer County, NJ ($242.9M 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: Hightstown is mostly in Mercer County.

See federal money in Mercer 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.

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

House

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.

Mercer County73100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Trenton-Princeton, NJ77

Other cities and towns in Mercer 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/3431620

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends