Photo: Leifrogers · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Plainfield Township are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Plainfield Township is better than 87% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (B−). 4.7% of residents are in poverty (Illinois 11.8%). About one in ten work in Plainfield Township itself; outside it, Chicago draws the most (15%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Plainfield Township, in a few figures
Plainfield Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Plainfield Township is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (6,404) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Plainfield Township empties out on a workday
About 58,000 people are in Plainfield Township on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than the 85,000 who live here: 40,000 head out to work and 13,000 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
Plainfield Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car holds Plainfield Township’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plainfield Township could be anywhere from A− to A.
Where in the region Plainfield Township works
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.
Who commutes out of Plainfield Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 39,877 residents head out to work, 3,587 work right here, and 12,776 people come in from elsewhere.
About 58,000 people are in Plainfield Township on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.38 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.
Commuting out of Plainfield Township: the destinations
Where Plainfield Township clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
What work there is in Plainfield Township: 16,363 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield Township, 2013 → 2023: 15,142 → 16,363. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Plainfield Township takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38,138 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Getting around Plainfield Township: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 44,751 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 5% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 2.3% of Plainfield Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Plainfield Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
93rd of 531: where Plainfield Township ranks among U.S. towns of 60,000 to 115,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Vernon Township IL | 71,353 | $146K | 6.3% | 2.4% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Arlington Heights IL | 76,216 | $117K | 6.0% | 3.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Alpharetta GA | 66,921 | $148K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 18% | A |
| 92 | Reston VA | 64,414 | $149K | 5.7% | 5.0% | 14% | A |
| 93 | Plainfield Township IL | 85,115 | $127K | 4.7% | 5.0% | 8% | A |
| 94 | Redondo Beach CA | 67,281 | $150K | 5.4% | 5.5% | 8% | A |
| 95 | Washington Township OH | 63,075 | $99K | 6.2% | 2.9% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 531 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Plainfield Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield Township | – | A | B− | 32 min | $127,061 |
| Troy Township | under 2% | A | B | 30 min | $109,309 |
| Wheatland Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $172,808 |
| Lockport Township | under 2% | B | A− | 32 min | $85,328 |
| Na-Au-Say Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 31 min | $127,857 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Plainfield Township’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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Plainfield Township?
$127,061 (±$3,489) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield Township?
4.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 32 mi), Joliet (9%, 6 mi), Plainfield (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainfield Township walkable?
Plainfield Township is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainfield Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plainfield Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plainfield Township
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.