Photo: Leifrogers · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Plainfield are higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Plainfield are A for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 4.2% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. About one in ten stay in Plainfield for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (15%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Plainfield apart
Plainfield’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Plainfield is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (3,572) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Plainfield
68% of Plainfield residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 50% of the jobs based in Plainfield pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Plainfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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 Plainfield’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($144,000, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plainfield could be anywhere from A to A+.
The commute from Plainfield, by distance
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.
Inside Plainfield’s 14,677 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 11,868 → 14,677. 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.
The trip to work from Plainfield: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,436 commuters (the 23% 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.
Plainfield quiets down on a workday
On a workday 21,260 residents head out to work, 2,056 work right here, and 12,621 people come in from elsewhere.
About 41,000 people are in Plainfield on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
The places Plainfield commutes to
Where Plainfield clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
Driving is how Plainfield gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plainfield is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #429 of 768 in Illinois. 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 24,029 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 2.6% of Plainfield households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Plainfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Plainfield is 71st among 904 U.S. towns of 35,000 to 68,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| 3 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Oswego IL | 39,948 | $124K | 2.6% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Batavia Township IL | 35,974 | $132K | 4.9% | 3.2% | 10% | A |
| 70 | Buffalo Grove IL | 42,812 | $129K | 7.2% | 2.7% | 6% | A |
| 71 | Plainfield IL | 50,043 | $144K | 4.2% | 3.8% | 9% | A |
| 72 | Minnetonka MN | 53,969 | $120K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| 73 | Riverton UT | 47,395 | $127K | 3.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 904 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Illinois.
Plainfield and its neighbors: 17% work next door
The biggest share goes to Naperville (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | – | A | B+ | 33 min | $144,000 |
| Joliet | 5% | B | B+ | 29 min | $92,201 |
| Bolingbrook | 3% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $108,400 |
| Naperville | 9% | A | A | 31 min | $155,105 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$144,000 (±$9,206) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield?
4.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 32 mi), Naperville (9%, 10 mi), Joliet (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainfield walkable?
Plainfield is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainfield without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% 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.