Highland, California

Highland (inc. East Highlands) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States located 65 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles and roughly 50 miles west of Palm Springs, California. The city's population, inclusive to its neighboring East Highlands community was 56,999 at the 2020 census.

History

The Santa Fe Railway was built to cater to the requirements of the successful orange farmers.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Highland had a population of 56,999 and a population density of . The median age was 33.6 years. The age distribution was 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.6% aged 18 to 24, 26.5% aged 25 to 44, 24.3% aged 45 to 64, and 11.2% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.

There were 16,656 households, of which 45.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.6% were married-couple households, 7.1% were cohabiting couple households, 25.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 14.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 14.7% of households were one person households, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.4, and there were 13,426 families (80.6% of all households).

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 19,412 || 34.1%

| Black or African American || 5,320 || 9.3%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 1,030 || 1.8%

| Asian || 4,733 || 8.3%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 157 || 0.3%

| Some other race || 17,226 || 30.2%

| Two or more races || 9,121 || 16.0%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 31,624 || 55.5%

Income and poverty

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $77,979, and the per capita income was $34,323. About 12.7% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

At the 2010 census Highland had a population of 53,104. The population density was . The racial makeup of Highland was 27,836 (52.4%) White (30.8% Non-Hispanic White), 5,887 (11.1%) African American, 542 (1.0%) Native American, 3,954 (7.4%) Asian, 168 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 11,826 (22.3%) from other races, and 2,891 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25,556 persons (48.1%).

The census reported that 52,932 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 76 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 96 (0.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 15,471 households, 7,922 (51.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,475 (54.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,884 (18.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,183 (7.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,129 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 109 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,254 households (14.6%) were one person and 757 (4.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.42. There were 12,542 families (81.1% of households); the average family size was 3.74.

The age distribution was 16,916 people (31.9%) under the age of 18, 5,900 people (11.1%) aged 18 to 24, 13,837 people (26.1%) aged 25 to 44, 12,357 people (23.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,094 people (7.7%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

There were 16,578 housing units at an average density of 877.6 per square mile, of the occupied units 10,106 (65.3%) were owner-occupied and 5,365 (34.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%. 33,361 people (62.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19,571 people (36.9%) lived in rental housing units.

Climate

Education

Highland is served by two public school districts: Redlands Unified and San Bernardino Unified School Districts (the boundaries are generally defined by City Creek; residents east of City Creek are in the Redlands Unified School District while those west of City Creek are served by San Bernardino City Unified School District).

Highland is home to a library and environmental learning center. The Highland Sam J. Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center is a gold-rated LEED building. It holds thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, and other items. It offers free computer access and Wi-fi. It has a rooftop garden and is home to animals, amphibians, and reptiles from around the globe.

Local colleges and universities include: Loma Linda University, University of Redlands, California State University's San Bernardino campus, and the two-campus San Bernardino Community College District (which includes Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa and San Bernardino Valley College).

Government

Local

Highland was founded as a townsite in 1891 and incorporated as a California general law city in November 1987. It follows a City Manager, City Council form of government with the City Manager appointed by the City Council.

State and federal

In the California State Senate, Highland is split between , and .

In the California State Assembly, Highland is split between , and .

In the United States House of Representatives, Highland is split between , and .

Public safety

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department provides contracted police services to the city of Highland from their regional station located at 26985 Base Line Road. The new police station was built and finally occupied in June 2011.

The city has contracted with Cal Fire to operate its fire services (three stations) since its incorporation.