Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Plainfield
The average commute, 27 minutes each way, matches the Connecticut norm. Jobs and income earn Plainfield B−; getting around on foot earns it C+. There are 4,289 jobs in Plainfield; 6,687 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Plainfield’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Plainfield is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #134 of 155 in Connecticut. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Plainfield’s grade. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plainfield could be anywhere from C to B+.
Plainfield on a workday afternoon
On a workday 5,701 residents head out to work, 986 work right here, and 3,303 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Plainfield on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.64 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
11% of working residents work in Killingly
Where Plainfield clocks in
11% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What Plainfield’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 4,319 → 4,289. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Plainfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes each way, about the CT average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,937 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Plainfield
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Plainfield commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plainfield is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #105 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Plainfield near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,711 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.7% of Plainfield households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Plainfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,321st of 2,109: where Plainfield ranks among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 122 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,319 | Gulf Shores AL | 17,394 | $78K | 11.5% | 2.4% | 28% | B− |
| 1,320 | Manchester VA | 12,445 | $80K | 12.7% | 6.4% | 4% | B− |
| 1,321 | Plainfield CT | 15,381 | $77K | 8.7% | 4.4% | 15% | B− |
| 1,322 | Rostraver Township PA | 11,455 | $73K | 13.7% | 3.6% | 9% | B− |
| 1,323 | Washougal WA | 18,028 | $106K | 11.2% | 7.7% | 9% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Plainfield, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Next door is work for 11% of Plainfield
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | – | B− | C+ | 27 min | $76,993 |
| Canterbury | under 2% | A− | D | 32 min | $103,198 |
| Brooklyn | under 2% | B+ | C− | 27 min | $96,207 |
| Wauregan | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Sterling | under 2% | B− | C− | 35 min | $102,695 |
| Killingly | 11% | C | C | 28 min | $84,350 |
| Voluntown | under 2% | B− | D | 31 min | $101,964 |
| Griswold | under 2% | B− | A− | 31 min | $78,719 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wauregan: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Killingly. Darker towns draw more of Plainfield’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Plainfield: questions
What is the median household income in Plainfield?
$76,993 (±$7,931) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield?
8.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Killingly (11%, 10 mi), Norwich (6%, 14 mi), Putnam (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainfield walkable?
Plainfield is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plainfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plainfield
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.