Village · Orange County, New York

Highland Falls, New York

Highland Falls is a village in Orange County, New York, part of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY metro area. It has 3,683 residents. Highland Falls, New York has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,952 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #530 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), broadband subscriptions (high) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), average commute time (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,952 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #530 of 859 in NY
Population: 3,683 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 3,367.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3634495

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.

Safety85#2,326/15,637
Economy56#6,887/15,631
Housing12#13,242/14,977
Health85#2,289/15,609
Healthcare50#7,873/15,650
Environment90#1,500/15,453
Education68#5,044/15,649
Infrastructure58#6,530/15,650
Community37#9,806/15,651
Leisure & amenities65#5,520/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Median Air Quality Index · low27
96/100New York 402025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOrange County value
Broadband subscriptions · high97.6%
95/100New York 90.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Suicide rate · low7.6 /100k
93/100New York 8.5 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOrange County value
Depression · low17.5%
93/100New York 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Firearm deaths · low4.7 /100k
89/100New York 4.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOrange County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100New York 3.7United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationOrange County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.84%
1/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Average commute time · high25.6 min
6/100New York 32.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Preventable hospital stays · high3,605 /100k
17/100New York 2,733 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOrange County value
High school diploma or higher · low95.2%
19/100New York 88.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Rent-burdened households · high57.7%
19/100New York 52.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · high36.4%
20/100New York 31.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.7% (2015-2019) → 57.7% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 16.2% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.5% (2015-2019) → 97.6% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.3% (2015-2019) → 36.4% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$86,750 (2015-2019) → $110,714 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateWorsening
2.4% (2015-2019) → 6.6% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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 Falls, New York improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved2

Broadband+13 points84.5% → 97.6%
Household income+28%$86,750 → $110,714

Declined1

Child poverty+16 points0.0% → 16.2%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Highland Falls, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.6 min2015-2019	25.6 min2020-2024	+4.0 min	Within the margin of error	14%
Bachelor's degree or higher	43.8%2015-2019	43.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	84.5%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	73%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	16.2%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	6%
Effective property tax rate	3.58%2015-2019	2.84%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	97%
High school diploma or higher	92.3%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	46%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3992015-2019	0.3672020-2024	−0.032	Within the margin of error	75%
Median household income	$86,7502015-2019	$110,7142020-2024	+28%	Improved	50%
Rent as share of income	26.3%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Rent-burdened households	39.7%2015-2019	57.7%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	11%

“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 Falls, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Highland Falls, New York 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 Falls, New York itself moved −7.3 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

3,683 residents (±18)

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

1,704 households (±171)

Highland Falls, New York
New York share

Under $25k12%†196
$25k–50k15%†255
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,704 households (±171)

Highland Falls, New York
New York share

Own59%1,004
Rent41%700

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

2,097 workers (±263)

Highland Falls, New York
New York share

Drive alone80%1,673
Carpool7.0%†146
Public transit0.0%0

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 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY

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 Orange County, the county holding most of Highland Falls's residents.

Orange County has 10,467 employer establishments, 255 for every 10,000 residents (1.03× the US rate of 248; 0.93× New York's), with 129,093 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,747. The Census Bureau also counts 34,392 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 10,467; 34,392 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 255; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 129,093
Average annual pay: $51,747; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	907	22.1	1.43×More than typical	5,494	$71,315	1,958
Restaurants and other eating places	858	20.9	1.14×About typical	9,983	$24,735	231
Ambulatory health care services	668	16.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	11,026	$71,115	1,686
Construction of buildings	469	11.4	1.51×More than typical	1,975	$46,403	1,041
Lessors of real estate	411	10	0.81×About typical	1,158	$55,811	4,464
Full-service restaurants	397	9.7	1.26×More than typical	5,160	$26,891	107
Services to buildings and dwellings	360	8.8	1.30×More than typical	2,065	$42,314	1,414
Building equipment contractors	339	8.3	1.37×More than typical	2,726	$70,332	451
Limited-service restaurants	322	7.9	0.98×About typical	3,654	$21,884	89
Clothing and accessories stores	291	7.1	1.96×More than typical	4,672	$33,453	341
Personal care services	274	6.7	1.40×More than typical	1,103	$23,573	1,039
Automotive repair and maintenance	265	6.5	1.28×More than typical	1,514	$49,087	263

Rank places for an industry Open Orange County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 410,179 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 $1.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Highland Falls, New York: $351 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $1.3M; +5.7% vs FY2025
Per resident: $351; US $1,995
Sole-source: 3.3%; 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 Defense Education Activity$774K60%
Department of the Army$518.5K40%

Top recipients

HIGHLAND FALLS FORT MONTGOMERY SCHOOL DISTRICT$774K60%
CONTI FEDERAL SERVICES, LLC$482.3K37%
CHEROKEE NATION SOLUTIONS LINK, L.L.C.$42.2K3.3%
ROYCE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, LLC-$6,0250.0%

Spending by fiscal year

30.6KFY2017
168.2KFY2018
50KFY2019
2.6MFY2020
536.2KFY2021
4.7MFY2022
2MFY2023
1.4MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Elementary and secondary schools · 6111$774K60%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$476.3K37%
Facilities support services · 5612$42.2K3.3%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Falls, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Highland Falls, New York's figures are part of those of Orange County, NY ($142.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Orange 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 Falls, New York is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Patrick RyanD-NY-18 · 100% of residentsWith party 93%Missed 0.6%

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.

Orange County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY81

Other cities and towns in Orange 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/3634495

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends