Welcome to Highlands ...

The town of Highlands is primarily located in Jackson County<1>. A portion of Highlands extends into Macon County.

Highlands was established in 1875.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Highlands has a population of 978 people<2> (see below for details).

The community of Highlands is 3,820 feet [1,164 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of Highlands is about ¾ mile [or ~1¼ km] above sea level.

Time Zone: Highlands lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Highlands: 828

The ZIP code for Highlands: 28741<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Highlands had an population of 978 people. This is an increase of 5.84% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 7.59% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Highlands had a population of 924 people. This makes Highlands the county's 2nd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 924 people, the population of Highlands increased 1.65% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 909 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Highlands.

Communities Also Named Highlands ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two North Carolina communities named Highlands: This one is located in Jackson County and the other is located in Orange County.

Beyond North Carolina, there are 49 communities that are also named Highlands - they are located in Alabama (4), British Columbia, California (2), Colorado (3), Delaware (2), Florida (2), Georgia (3), Idaho, Illinois (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana, Maine (2), Maryland (4), Massachusetts (3), New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina (3), Tennessee, Texas (2), Utah, Virginia and Washington (2).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Highlands.

Websites for Highlands ...

Official Website: www.main.nc.us/highlands/

Communities near Highlands ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Highlands.

• Franklin
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Franklin is located in Macon County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Franklin
  • From Highlands to Franklin
• Clayton
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
  • Clayton is located in Rabun County (GA)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,103 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Clayton
  • From Highlands to Clayton
• Mountain City
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain City have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
  • Mountain City is located in Rabun County (GA)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,113 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain City <5>
• Tiger
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiger
  • Tiger is located in Rabun County (GA)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tiger <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Tiger
  • From Highlands to Tiger
• Forest Hills
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
  • Forest Hills is located in Jackson County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
  • Forest Hills has also been known as:
  • Forest Hills village
  • Village of Forest Hills
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Hills <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Forest Hills
  • From Highlands to Forest Hills
• Dillard
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillard
  • Dillard is located in Rabun County (GA)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillard <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Dillard
  • From Highlands to Dillard
• Sky Valley
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sky Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Valley
  • Sky Valley is located in Rabun County (GA)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sky Valley <5>
• Salem
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
  • Salem is located in Oconee County (SC)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Salem
  • From Highlands to Salem
• Lickskillet
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lickskillet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
  • Lickskillet is located in Macon County
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Lickskillet
  • From Highlands to Lickskillet
• Cashiers
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cashiers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashiers
  • Cashiers is located in Jackson County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cashiers <5>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Cashiers
  • From Highlands to Cashiers

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Highlands. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Highlands.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Highlands. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Highlands.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Highlands. Our list includes 7 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Highlands.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Highlands ...

Looking for more information about Highlands? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Highlands, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Highlands.

Adding Highlands to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Highlands in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Highlands was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Highlands.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Highlands: www.main.nc.us/highlands/

The official website for Jackson County: www.jacksonnc.org/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/