Highlands is a very small town located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 1,110 people and two associated neighborhoods, Highlands is the 396th largest community in North Carolina.

Highlands home prices are not only among the most expensive in North Carolina, but Highlands real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, Highlands is also a town 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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 19.37% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.

Another notable thing is that Highlands is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

One of the benefits of Highlands is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 13.93 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

Being a small town, Highlands does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Highlands. 53.01% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Highlands in 2022 was $48,722, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $194,888 for a family of four. However, Highlands contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Highlands is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. 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 Black or African-American. Highlands also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.11% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Highlands include English, German, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Scottish.

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