Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Plainville has higher household incomes than 80% of U.S. towns
Only 6% work in Plainville; the top destination outside it is Boston (13%, 28 miles). 7.4% of residents live below the poverty line (Massachusetts 10.0%). For jobs and income Plainville is better than 70% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Plainville: the gist
Plainville’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Plainville is Boston, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (665) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Plainville
73% of Plainville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Plainville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Plainville: the grade in detail
Job access by car holds Plainville’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.4%, 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, Plainville could be anywhere from B− to A.
How far Plainville goes to work
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 Plainville’s 4,248 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainville, 2013 → 2023: 3,769 → 4,248. 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.
Who commutes out of Plainville, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,930 residents head out to work, 305 work right here, and 3,943 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,200 people are in Plainville on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 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.
Where Plainville goes to work
Where Plainville clocks in
13% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
The trip to work from Plainville: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainville workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,106 commuters (the 18% 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.
Driving is how Plainville gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 14.1% across Massachusetts.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,002 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 12% 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 49% 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). 3.2% of Plainville households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Plainville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Plainville next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 1,141st of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,139 | Cortland OH | 7,024 | $72K | 9.8% | 1.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,140 | Richland Hills TX | 8,529 | $67K | 8.5% | 3.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,141 | Plainville MA | 10,175 | $104K | 7.4% | 6.4% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,142 | St. Clair Township MI | 7,159 | $93K | 5.3% | 4.3% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,143 | Oak Grove SC | 12,256 | $75K | 12.6% | 2.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Massachusetts.
The towns around Plainville
The biggest share goes to North Attleborough Town (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainville | – | B+ | B− | 29 min | $104,106 |
| Wrentham | 3% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $151,676 |
| North Attleborough Town | 4% | A− | A− | 32 min | $112,665 |
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?
$104,106 (±$12,802) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainville?
7.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainville?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainville work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (13%, 28 mi), North Attleborough Town (4%, 3 mi), Wrentham (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainville walkable?
Plainville is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainville without a car?
1% 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 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.