2026 Compare Cities Economy:
West Palm Beach, FL vs Highlands, NC

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Highlights
- Household income in Highlands, is 8% less than it is in West Palm Beach and is 33% below the National Average.
- West Palm Beach unemployment rate is 5.0%.
- Highlands unemployment rate is 4.2%.
 West Palm Beach, FLHighlands, NCUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.2%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.0%1.6%
 Future Job Growth39.4%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.3%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$36,247  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$52,070$69,021
 Family Median Income$67,432  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 West Palm Beach, FLHighlands, NCUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock12.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.9%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock17.3%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K7.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock3.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.5%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.3%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.9%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K5.4%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock5.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 West Palm Beach, FLHighlands, NCUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.8%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock2.0%6.5%
 Community, social services1.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.6%1.2%
 Education, library4.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock5.9%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock0.0%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.5%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock17.0%5.4%
 Building maintenance5.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock4.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.4%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair7.8%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock1.8%13.1%
Reviews for West Palm Beach    51 Reviews

Over 9 years ago

Palm Beach county is getting over crowded at least from point of view. High property taxes and home owners insurance (due to hurricanes) traffic is getting worse.   More

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Over 10 years ago

I couldn't think of a better place to live. There are so many things to do around town. Traffic in not bad, for the most part. There's a good mix of cultural diversity.  More

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Over 10 years ago

Why is Cultural diversity considered a pro for West Palm  More

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Reviews for Highlands    4 Reviews

Love BestPlaces, but most of their statistics are incorrect for the actual town of Highlands which is extremely expensive. I assume they are using information from Macon  More

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Over 5 years ago

This used to be a quaint, quiet, sweet little town, but it has ballooned into a rich man's Mecca. Fist of all, it's a tiny town... so parking is at a premium and it gets  More

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Over 15 years ago

I have run two businesses in Highlands. It is a very seasonal business trend. The rents are high and so is the cost of doing business, including labor cost, cost of  More

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