Highland Mills is a medium-sized town located in the state of New York. With a population of 11,523 people and two associated neighborhoods, Highland Mills is the 165th largest community in New York. Housing costs in Highland Mills 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 York.Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Highland Mills is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Highland Mills is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Highland Mills who work in teaching (14.06%), business and financial occupations (12.11%), and sales jobs (10.60%). Also of interest is that Highland Mills 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: 11.99% 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. Highland Mills is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Highland Mills’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country. In Highland Mills, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 38.92 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In Highland Mills, a lot of people use the train to get to work every day though Highland Mills is a relatively small town. Those that ride the train are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.Highland Mills is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 47.80% of adults in Highland Mills have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The per capita income in Highland Mills in 2022 was $47,714, which is upper middle income relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $190,856 for a family of four. However, Highland Mills contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Highland Mills is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Highland Mills home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Highland Mills residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Highland Mills also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 21.44% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Highland Mills include Italian, Irish, German, Hungarian, and Polish. Highland Mills also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 16.39%. The most common language spoken in Highland Mills is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
