Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Plainville (2.9%) than in 71% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Plainville itself; outside it, Hartford draws the most (9%, 11 miles). Plainville grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Working residents average 21 minutes each way, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Plainville, in brief
Plainville trades workers with the towns around it
Plainville has about as many jobs (8,467) as working residents (8,809), but they are mostly different people: 7,895 residents leave for work each day while 7,553 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Plainville are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Plainville works one town over
27% of working residents work in a town that borders Plainville: Bristol (7%), Farmington (7%) and New Britain (7%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Plainville are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Connecticut. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Connecticut worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Plainville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Plainville is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #68 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($84,343, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plainville could be anywhere from B+ to A.
A workday in Plainville: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 7,895 residents head out to work, 914 work right here, and 7,553 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Plainville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainville workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,878 commuters (the 11% 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.
Where people from Plainville work
Where Plainville clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 29% of the jobs in Plainville
8,467 jobs are based in Plainville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainville, 2013 → 2023: 9,138 → 8,467. 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 Plainville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Plainville
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.
For most of Plainville, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plainville is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #60 of 155 in Connecticut. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across Connecticut.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,944 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 5.6% of Plainville households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Plainville’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Plainville ranks: 554th of 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 113 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 552 | Santaquin UT | 18,989 | $100K | 3.9% | 2.1% | 7% | A− |
| 553 | Medina Township IL | 13,863 | $124K | 5.3% | 3.9% | 9% | A− |
| 554 | Plainville CT | 17,746 | $84K | 6.5% | 2.9% | 10% | A− |
| 555 | Waxhaw NC | 23,140 | $132K | 4.5% | 4.9% | 6% | A− |
| 556 | Newcastle WA | 13,128 | $160K | 5.9% | 5.6% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Plainville, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Bordering towns draw 27% of Plainville’s workers
The biggest share goes to Bristol (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainville | – | A− | B+ | 21 min | $84,343 |
| Bristol | 7% | B− | B+ | 24 min | $79,076 |
| Farmington | 7% | A+ | A− | 24 min | $141,120 |
| New Britain | 7% | C | A | 22 min | $58,613 |
| Southington | 6% | A | C+ | 24 min | $124,309 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Plainville’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 Plainville: questions
What is the median household income in Plainville?
$84,343 (±$7,368) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainville?
6.5%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainville?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainville work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hartford (9%, 11 mi), Farmington (7%, 4 mi), Bristol (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainville walkable?
Plainville is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainville without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plainville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plainville
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.