Highland Mills is a medium-sized town located in the state of New York. With a population of 11,512 people and two associated neighborhoods, Highland Mills is the 165th largest community 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 (15.02%), business and financial occupations (12.55%), and management occupations (11.02%). 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. A relatively large number of people in Highland Mills telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.21% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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. Because of many things, Highland Mills is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Highland Mills a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Highland Mills has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Highland Mills’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country. One downside of living in Highland Mills, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 39.18 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead. In Highland Mills, a lot of people use the bus to get to work every day though Highland Mills is a relatively small town. Those that ride the bus 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. 46.13% 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 $49,179, which is upper middle income relative to New York, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $196,716 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 24.86% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Highland Mills include Italian, Irish, German, Polish, and French Canadian. The most common language spoken in Highland Mills is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
