Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
The precinct map shows the 2024 presidential vote; the timeline scrubs the city’s overall result across 2004–2024, on current city boundaries.
President results by year
Vote totals, margins, and source status
HarrisDemocratic48.0%1,358TrumpRepublican50.0%1,414OtherAll other candidates2.0%57
R+2.0
Lead
56
Total
2,829
vs nation
R+0.5
BidenDemocratic50.2%1,465TrumpRepublican48.9%1,428OtherAll other candidates0.9%27
D+1.3
Lead
37
Total
2,920
vs nation
R+3.2
ClintonDemocratic43.8%1,008TrumpRepublican52.0%1,199OtherAll other candidates4.2%97
R+8.3
Lead
191
Total
2,304
vs nation
R+10.4
ObamaDemocratic55.0%1,071RomneyRepublican43.7%851OtherAll other candidates1.3%26
D+11.3
Lead
220
Total
1,948
vs nation
D+7.4
ObamaDemocratic52.4%1,266McCainRepublican45.8%1,108OtherAll other candidates1.8%44
D+6.5
Lead
158
Total
2,418
vs nation
R+0.7
KerryDemocratic49.6%1,143BushRepublican48.9%1,126OtherAll other candidates1.6%36
D+0.7
Lead
17
Total
2,305
vs nation
D+3.2
Key facts
2024 presidential margin
R+2.0MIT Election Lab
Population
4,5182024 5-year
Population density
6,454 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
Land area
0.7 sq miTIGER/Line
Median household income
$91,9132024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
81.0%2024 5-year
Black
2.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
6.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+11.3 in 2012MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+8.3 in 2016MIT Election Lab
Participation
Turnout and midterm durability
Participation measured against the same-year citizen voting-age population. Audited cycles count total general-election participants — ballots or participating voters, not presidential candidate votes. Cycles before 2016 predate that series and are derived from the certified presidential returns instead; they are marked everywhere they appear and are excluded from the figures below.
2004–20248 cycles · 5 audited
2024 turnout
76.1%2,852 participants ÷ 3,748 CVAP
2020→2022 drop-off
+27.5 ptsPresidential-dependent
Drop-off vs state
-5.3 ptsPositive means a larger decline than the statewide pattern
Mechanical 2026
48.6%–57.4%Recent-cycle and two-cycle persistence scenarios; not a forecast
Participation by cycle
Presidential Midterm Derived, pre-2016
0%20%40%60%80%100%
45.9%
48.8%
20042008201220162018202020222024
Select a presidential cycle to show it on the map and results ledger above.
Cycle
Participants
CVAP
Turnout
Series
Quality
2,852
3,748 ± 397
76.1%
Audited
E/D
2022Mid
1,805
3,698 ± 435
48.8%
Audited
E/D
2,944
3,860 ± 704
76.3%
Audited
E/D
2018Mid
1,964
4,281 ± 289
45.9%
Audited
E/A
2,377
4,254 ± 336
55.9%
Audited
E/A
1,948
3,902
49.9%
Derived
—
2,418
4,173
57.9%
Derived
—
2,305
4,444 extrapolated
51.9%
Derived
—
Sources and methods
Audited cycles (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) count total general-election participants against the same-year CVAP special tabulation, each cell carrying its own numerator and denominator quality grade. Derived cycles (2004, 2008, 2012) come from the certified presidential returns on this page over the ACS 5-year CVAP series, so they measure presidential votes cast rather than ballots — a floor on participation. Where a derived cycle predates the ACS its denominator is extrapolated rather than read, and says so on its own line below. They are shown for the longer arc and are excluded from the drop-off, excess-drop-off, and 2026 scenario figures above.
2024: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 323/229.
2022: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 322/184.
2020: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 321/4.
2018: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 320/139.
2016: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 319/133.
2012 (derived): Certified presidential returns · ACS 5-year CVAP (B05003); presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count.
2008 (derived): Certified presidential returns · ACS 5-year CVAP (B05003); presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count.
2004 (derived): Certified presidential returns · extrapolated CVAP denominator; presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count; 2004 predates the ACS, so the denominator is a linear back-extrapolation from the 2008 and 2012 CVAP values, not a read figure.
presidential history
Party record book
Highlands, NJ · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
2004–2024 · 6 presidential cycles
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2012
55.0%
1,071 votes · D+11.3
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 52.4%
Republican
Donald Trump2016
52.0%
1,199 votes · R+8.3
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2024 · 50.0%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Joe Biden2020
1,465votes
50.2% of the vote · D+1.3
Runner-up · Kamala Harris, 2024 · 1,358 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2020
1,428votes
48.9% of the vote · D+1.3
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2024 · 1,414 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Barack Obama2012
+7.4pts D vs U.S.
Place D+11.3 · U.S. D+3.9
Runner-up · John Kerry, 2004 · +3.2 pts
Republican
Donald Trump2016
+10.4pts R vs U.S.
Place R+8.3 · U.S. D+2.1
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · +3.2 pts
U.S. House elections · 2 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row shows U.S. House votes counted inside this Place. “Vote lead” is the local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Highlands · which candidate this place backed in each party’s presidential nominating contest, cycle by cycle. A primary is a contest inside one party, so it has no Democratic–Republican margin and is not part of the general-election record above.
Akashic reports votes cast, not delegates awarded. The two can disagree: Clinton led the 2008 national primary popular vote by less than half a point and did not win the nomination.
Primary returns are published at county grain. The figures below are Monmouth County, New Jersey, the county containing Highlands — Highlands’s own primary vote sits inside those totals and is not separately reported.
Presidential nominating contests in Highlands, by party and cycle.
○no contest record — Akashic holds no result for that party and cycle here. It is not a claim that no contest was held. Telling apart a contest that was cancelled, one that went uncontested, and one simply not yet ingested needs a nominating-contest calendar, which is a separate ingest from results and does not exist yet.
Republican presidential primaries are not yet ingested — the Republican series runs from 1856 and is in scope. The row is kept so its absence is visible: a Democratic-only panel would otherwise read as though no one else held a contest.
Akashic carries 10 states for 2012 and 3 states for 2024. Cycles in which an incumbent president seeks renomination are thin by nature — few states run a contested primary — so a sparse column is politics, not a hole in the record.
County returns carry a leader and a lead over the runner-up, and nothing more. The full candidate field with vote shares is published at state grain — follow a cycle above to the state contest for it.
Highlands sits at sea level on the Raritan Bay shore and was among the hardest-hit Monmouth County communities after Hurricane Sandy, making coastal resilience and FEMA flood-map disputes persistent voter concerns.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 11.3 points in 2012 and a Republican high of 8.3 points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 3.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 2.0 points.
A population of 4,518, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $91,913 describe the city.
In 2024, Highlands, New Jersey voted Republican by 2.0 points (R+2.0), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,829 votes cast, 1,358 went Democratic and 1,414 went Republican.
When did Highlands, New Jersey last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Highlands, New Jersey voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Highlands, New Jersey?
Highlands, New Jersey has a population of 4,518 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Highlands, New Jersey?
Median household income in Highlands, New Jersey is $91,913 — above the national median of $80,734. The New Jersey state median is $103,556.
What is the political history of Highlands, New Jersey?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Highlands, New Jersey from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 2 went Republican.
