Living in Highland Park, New Jersey: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood16 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town11 public schools: 8 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byRobert Wood Johnson University Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 28 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Highland Park meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Highland Park runs into the built-up area around New York (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $471,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 30%Middlesex County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,873 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $104,694U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 40%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 27%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 30% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Highland Park alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 15,2592020: 15,035
Median age: 35.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 70%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%
College students: 11%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (38%); professional and business services (17%); manufacturing (8%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 26%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

11 public schools in Highland Park, run by Highland Park Boro School District and New Brunswick School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Rutgers University-New Brunswick (20,000 or more students); New Brunswick Theological Seminary (under 1,000 students); Rabbi Jacob Joseph School (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Jersey's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 90%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 98%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 23°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 24 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 110 a year
Rain and melted snow: 49.5 inches a year
Snow: 29 inches a year
Elevation: 79 feet

Weather station: New Brunswick 3 SE (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

New Brunswick, NJCity of 57,0001

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million28

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: New Brunswick, New York.

Middlesex County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Livingston Manor Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Gateway National Recreation Area15 miles
Morristown National Historical Park18 miles
Thomas Edison National Historical Park22 miles
Statue of Liberty National Monument24 miles
Governors Island National Monument25 miles

Campus life. Check Rutgers University-New Brunswick's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Highland Park's history on Wikipedia.

Know Highland Park?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

East Franklin, NJ11,100 people, 2 miles
Milltown, NJ7,100 people, 4 miles
Metuchen, NJ15,400 people, 4 miles
South River, NJ16,300 people, 5 miles
Six Mile Run, NJ2,900 people, 6 miles
Middlesex, NJ14,700 people, 6 miles

Smaller places

Voorhees, NJ (unincorporated)2,000 people, 4 miles
Clyde, NJ (unincorporated)129 people, 5 miles
Middlebush, NJ (unincorporated)2,049 people, 6 miles
Keasbey, NJ (unincorporated)2,252 people, 6 miles
East Millstone, NJ (unincorporated)698 people, 7 miles
Weston, NJ (unincorporated)2,105 people, 8 miles
Deans, NJ (unincorporated)1,154 people, 8 miles
Pleasant Plains, NJ (unincorporated)468 people, 8 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.