Highland Lakes, NJ Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Highland Lakes

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Highland Lakes leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.

 

About 98% of adults in Highland Lakes typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Highland Lakes, ~38% vote Democratic, ~60% Republican, and ~2% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Highland Lakes compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Highland Lakes leans more Republican than 128 of 181 neighbors.

Highland Lakes runs about 29 points more Republican than New Jersey as a whole. New Jersey leans Democratic overall, while Highland Lakes is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Highland Lakes. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+39) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 26 points.

Why Highland Lakes leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Highland Lakes, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Highland Lakes votes against the grain of New Jersey. New Jersey leans Democratic overall, while Highland Lakes runs about 29 points more Republican. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Highland Lakes are family households, above 78% of cities.

Homeownership and voter turnout

Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Highland Lakes, NJ sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Highland Lakes looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Highland Lakes is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 72%, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and more than 99% of households in Highland Lakes own their home, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Highland Lakes have completed high school, above 91% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New Jersey Division of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.

Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.