Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Plainfield has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Plainfield report 71 jobs for 317 working residents. Only 3% work in Plainfield itself; outside it, Northampton draws the most (10%, 18 miles). Home is the office for 26% of workers; Massachusetts has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Plainfield in brief
Plainfield is a place people come home to
There are 71 jobs based in Plainfield, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Plainfield has about 400 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Plainfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 317 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily commute in and out of Plainfield
On a workday 309 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 63 people come in from elsewhere.
About 400 people are in Plainfield on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Plainfield takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 222 commuters (the 26% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Plainfield goes to work
About 30% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Out of Plainfield to work: where people go
Where Plainfield clocks in
10% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Plainfield: what the 71 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 24 → 71. 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.
Plainfield and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | – | — | — | 38 min | $63,500 |
| Ashfield | under 3% | C+ | C | 30 min | $80,833 |
| Cummington | 3% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Windsor | under 3% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Hawley | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Savoy | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Cummington, Hawley and Savoy: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Windsor: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Cummington. 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?
$63,500 (±$13,875) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield?
16.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
38 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Northampton (10%, 18 mi), Pittsfield (7%, 18 mi), Westfield (5%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Plainfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.