[23] Hightstown was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1853, within portions of East Windsor Township.

[24] The traditional explanation is that the borough was named for John and Mary Hight, who established a tavern in the area in the 1750s.

[30][31][32] Hightstown is at the central-most point of New Jersey and is roughly equidistant from Philadelphia and New York City.

[40][41] As of the 2000 Census, 6.31% of Hightstown's residents identified themselves as being of Ecuadorian ancestry, which was the second highest of any municipality in New Jersey and the sixth highest percentage of Ecuadorian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

[44][45] Downtown Hightstown, Inc., established in 2008, is an organization of businesses owners and stakeholders in the community of Hightstown, dedicated to promoting the "unique ability to be a town big enough to provide a diverse offering of business services while being small enough to offer excellent personal service to residents, visitors and customers.

[6] The borough form of government used by Hightstown is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie.

The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council.

[48][49][50] As of 2023[update], the mayor of the Borough of Hightstown is Democrat Susan Bluth, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2026.

[3][51][52][53][54][55] The borough council appointed Jeet Gulati in February 2023 to fill the council seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Susan Bluth until she resigned the previous month to take office as mayor; Gulati will serve on an interim basis until the November 2023 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to fill the balance of the term of office.

[56] In January 2019, the borough council selected Patricia Egan from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that became vacant the previous month following the resignation of Connor Montferrat.

[59] Seth Kurs was appointed in April 2014 from among three prospective candidates to fill the vacant seat expiring in 2015 of Gail Doran, who had resigned earlier in the month, citing personal reasons.

[65] Prior to the 2010 Census, Hightstown had been part of the 4th Congressional District, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.

[65] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is currently represented Herb Conaway (D, Delran Township).

[69] As of 2025[update], the County Executive is Daniel R. Benson (D, Hamilton Township) whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.

[111][112][113] Eighth grade students from all of Mercer County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Mercer County Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at its Health Sciences Academy, STEM Academy and Academy of Culinary Arts, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

It is notable for its Victorian homes, First Methodist Church, and the Hightstown Civil War monument.

It is also significant for its association with the introduction of rail service to New Jersey, as the first railroad in the United States to connect two major cities, New York and Philadelphia.

[123] The Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association offers service on the Route 130 Connection between the Trenton Transit Center and South Brunswick.

[125] There is also direct service to New York, as well as other New Jersey communities on the Suburban Coach route 300 to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Grand Central Terminal and other destinations in Midtown Manhattan and the 600 route to and from Downtown Manhattan / Wall Street.

[citation needed] Hightstown is served by CentraState Healthcare System, a 287-bed regional hospital affiliated with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, located in nearby Freehold Township.

[130] The next closest hospitals to the borough include the Hamilton Division of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton Township and Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro Township.

On average, the wettest month of the year is July which corresponds with the annual peak in thunderstorm activity.

The plant hardiness zone is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 0.0 °F (−17.8 °C).