Highlands (N.J.)

See also New York–New Jersey Highlands for the northwestern part of New Jersey. Highlands is a borough in northern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A historic waterfront community located on the Raritan Bay within the Raritan Valley region, this scenic borough is a commuter town of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,621, a decrease of 384 (−7.7%) from the 2010 census count of 5,005, which in turn reflected a decline of 92 (−1.8%) from the 5,097 counted in the 2000 census. The eastern part of the town is on a high bluff that overlooks Sandy Hook Bay, the entrance to New York Harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean, from which the borough derives its name. Atop this bluff are the Navesink Twin Lights. Highlands was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1900, from parts of Middletown Township. Additional parts of Middletown Township were annexed in 1914. Highlands was part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural environment of the Raritan Bayshore coastline. The plan has since been integrated into the 2016 Monmouth County Master Plan. On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the eastern seaboard of the United States, making landfall just north of Atlantic City, before causing significant damage to businesses and homes in the borough.