Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,005, reflecting a decline of 92 from the 5,097 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 248 from the 4,849 counted in the 1990 Census. It is the home town of film maker, director, and comic book writer Kevin Smith. The eastern part of the town is built on a high bluff that overlooks Sandy Hook and the Atlantic Ocean, from which the borough derives its name. Atop this bluff are the Navesink Twin Lights.Highlands was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1900, from portions of Middletown Township. Additional portions of Middletown Township were annexed in 1914.