Highlands is a very small coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 4,620 people and two associated neighborhoods, Highlands is the 331st largest community in New Jersey.

Housing costs in Highlands are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.

There are many members of the armed forces living in Highlands. You will notice when you visit or live here that some of the people you meet or see around town are employed by the armed services - even if they are not always in uniform.

Of important note, Highlands is also a borough of artists. Highlands has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Highlands’s character.

Also of interest is that Highlands has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 17.05% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Highlands is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

One of the nice things about Highlands is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Highlands is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Highlands, the average commute to work is 34.77 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the borough, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

Despite being a small borough, Highlands has a lot of people using a ferryboat to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on a ferryboat are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.

The education level of Highlands ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Highlands, 49.67% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The per capita income in Highlands in 2018 was $72,422, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $289,688 for a family of four.

Highlands is a somewhat ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Highlands home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Highlands residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Highlands include Italian, German, Irish, English, and Scottish.

The most common language spoken in Highlands is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.