Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Plainfield's standout: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 98% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades B−, ranked 103rd of 151 in Connecticut. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 71% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $348K, 3.8 years of the Putnam area’s $91K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 11 places on the National Register. Only 13 of Connecticut’s 174 towns score lower on health. Its National Register listings include First Congregational Church of Plainfield and Plainfield Street Historic District. Of the 90 Connecticut towns we compare, none has a lower property crime rate than Plainfield.
Where Plainfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,097 in 1820, 14,973 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 7 maps from 1889 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Plainfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plainfield, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Plainfield.
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
At 0.1 per 1,000 residents, Plainfield’s violent crime rate is against 0.4 in Connecticut’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Plainfield School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Plainfield High School, with 515 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield Central SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 422 | C+ |
| Plainfield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 515 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Plainfield for work: only 15% work in town. At $77,000, Plainfield’s median household income is below Connecticut’s towns ($109,000) and close to U.S. towns ($80,000). The top destinations are Killingly (11%), Norwich (6%) and Putnam (5%).
| Plainfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $77,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 16% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.7% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Plainfield home is worth about $348,000, up 3.1% in a year, 22% below the Connecticut typical home.
| Plainfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 74% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,204 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Plainfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Plainfield is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Plainfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
23 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. Quinebaug Wildlife Area, at 649 acres with 5.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Plainfield’s trail density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Quinebaug Wildlife Area | 5.4 mi | 649 |
| 2. Lockes Meadow Pond Wildlife Area | 1 mi | 154 |
| 3. Tillinghast Preserve | 0.6 mi | 34 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Plainfield beats the Connecticut average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 19% of adults report frequent mental distress in Plainfield. Only 5 of the 154 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Plainfield.
| Plainfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Plainfield | CT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14% | 9.8% |
| More smokers | 15% | 10.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.4% | 5.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Plainfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw35 mi MuseumThe Breakers
29 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
38 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
17 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun Arena
35 mi MuseumMarble HouseLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Mohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Marble House: [email protected], Public domain
None within 15 miles of Plainfield; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Plainfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Where Plainfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Plainfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Plainfield.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Plainfield is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. The town comprises four villages: Plainfield Village (south, ZIP code 06374), Moosup (northeast, 06354), Wauregan (northwest, 06387), and Central Village (west, 06332). Each village has their own respective United States Post Office and fire department. The entire town is serviced by the 860 area code.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Plainfield.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | #103 | B− | C+ | A+ | C | B− |
| Canterbury | #88 | B | B+ | — | C | A− |
| Brooklyn | #117 | C+ | C+ | — | C | B+ |
| Wauregan | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sterling | #143 | D | C | — | C− | C+ |
| Killingly | #138 | D | B− | — | C− | B− |
| Voluntown | #110 | C+ | C+ | — | B | B+ |
| Griswold | #129 | C | C | — | C− | B |
Canterbury, Brooklyn, Sterling, Killingly, Voluntown and Griswold report no FBI crime data of their own. Wauregan isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Plainfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Plainfield grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #103 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades B− for health, A+ for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
9 notable people were born here, including William A. Barstow and James Monroe.
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