Highland Beach is a town in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 96 at the 2010 census. The town was founded early in the 20th Century by affluent African Americans from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, looking for a retreat on the Chesapeake Bay. The town's incorporated status gave it a unique standing in empowering it to maintain its own police force. Celebrities with homes here have included Alex Haley, Bill Cosby, and Arthur Ashe.