Living in Hightstown, New Jersey: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.2% above the U.S. average in the Trenton-Princeton metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byUniversity Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro in Plainsboro, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 37 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 Hightstown 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

Hightstown runs into the built-up area around Trenton (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: $342,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 31%Mercer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,606 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $108,987U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $9,640 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 39%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 103.2U.S. average = 100 (the Trenton-Princeton 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 31% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Trenton-Princeton metro area, not Hightstown 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: 6,0072020: 5,885
Median age: 40.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 40%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%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 (25%); retail (16%); wholesale trade (8%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 2%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, Plainsboro, NJ, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

3 public schools in Hightstown, run by East Windsor Regional School District.

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: 84%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 93%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: 21°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 26 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 114 a year
Rain and melted snow: 47.5 inches a year
Snow: 24 inches a year
Elevation: 97 feet

Weather station: Hightstown 2 W (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

University Medical Center of Princeton at PlainsboroEmergency room7

Trenton, NJCity of 92,00013

Philadelphia, PAMetro of 6.3 million37

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: University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, Trenton, Philadelphia.

Mercer County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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 Stockton Street Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Gateway National Recreation Area27 miles
Morristown National Historical Park33 miles
Statue of Liberty National Monument38 miles
Thomas Edison National Historical Park39 miles
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site39 miles

Read about Hightstown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hightstown?

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

Twin Rivers, NJ8,400 people, 2 miles
Princeton Meadows, NJ15,600 people, 5 miles
Concordia, NJ2,600 people, 5 miles
Rossmoor, NJ3,400 people, 5 miles
Plainsboro Center, NJ2,800 people, 6 miles
Robbinsville Center, NJ3,800 people, 6 miles

Smaller places

Renaissance at Monroe, NJ (unincorporated)581 people, 2 miles
Monroe Manor, NJ (unincorporated)2,286 people, 3 miles
Cranbury, NJ (unincorporated)2,185 people, 3 miles
Windsor, NJ (unincorporated)325 people, 3 miles
Stonebridge, NJ (unincorporated)1,966 people, 4 miles
Clearbrook, NJ (unincorporated)2,375 people, 4 miles
Roosevelt, NJ807 people, 4 miles
The Ponds, NJ (unincorporated)1,097 people, 5 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.