Plainfield TownshipMI
A town of 34,770. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Is Plainfield Township a good place to live?
Plainfield Township grades A overall, 80th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 91% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 82% of the country. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $94K. A typical home there costs about $408K, 4.9 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. 14% of the land in Plainfield Township is conserved, above both the Michigan town median (4.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). On history, just 102 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. Donald J. Lamoreaux Park, at 249 acres with 3.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
What makes Plainfield Township stand out
Where Plainfield Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Chandler Woods Charter Academy | PK–8 | 741 |
| Pine Island Elementary | 3–5 | 379 |
| East Oakview Elementary School | K–4 | 371 |
| Widest gap | Plainfield Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 15.4% |
32 miles of trails in Plainfield Township
13.8% of the town is conserved land, across 21 parks and preserves.
How Plainfield Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Plainfield Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Plainfield Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plainfield Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Plainfield Township.
Conserved land covers 13.8% of Plainfield Township
32 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. Plainfield Township’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile, above both Michigan’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Donald J. Lamoreaux Park | 3.3 mi | 249 |
| 2. Rogue River Park | 2.7 mi | 99 |
| 3. Premier Park | 1.8 mi | 144 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Plainfield Township earns an A for schools
Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chandler Woods Charter AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 741 | A+ |
| Rockford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,750 | A |
| Rockford Spanish ImmersionTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 307 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Plainfield Township earns a C+ for cost of living
Typical home values rose 5.5% in the year to September 2026. 88% of Plainfield Township households own their home.
| Plainfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,269 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Plainfield Township earns an A− for health
19% of adults get no exercise outside work in Plainfield Township. Plainfield Township beats the Michigan average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Plainfield Township.
| Plainfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Plainfield Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Plainfield Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Plainfield Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most of Plainfield Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.8 jobs for each of them
Jobs based here grew from 6,632 in 2011 to 11,598.
Most working residents leave Plainfield Township for work: only 8% work in town. The average trip to work in Plainfield Township is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Plainfield Township grew to 11,598 in 2021, 4,966 more than in 2011.
| Plainfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 10% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Plainfield Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 175 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Plainfield Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fewer young adults than Michigan overall
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Plainfield Township has grown 3.7% since 2020, to 34,770 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 41% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Plainfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.6, men 39.3.
| Plainfield Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.6% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.3% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.9% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Plainfield Township. Close and well known come first.
8 mi MuseumGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
17 mi Park & preserveNorth Country Trail
7 mi MuseumFrederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park39 mi Theme parkMichigan's Adventure9 mi TheatreAcrisure Amphitheater
9 mi Theme parkRamona ParkPhoto credits
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Staff of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Public domain · North Country Trail: Huron-Manistee National Forests, Public domain · Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: User Jeffness on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Ramona Park: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Plainfield Township
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Plainfield Township
About 4 of every 100 Plainfield Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Plainfield Township
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Plainfield Charter Township is a charter township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 33,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is bordered by Grand Rapids on the south.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 663 ft
Plainfield Township’s neighbors
8 towns share a border with Plainfield Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield Township | #80 | A | C+ | — | A | A− |
| Alpine Township | #285 | B | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Cannon Township | #89 | A | C | — | A+ | A |
| Northview | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grand Rapids Township | #43 | A | C− | — | A+ | A |
| Rockford | #108 | A | C+ | B | A+ | A− |
| Algoma Township | #161 | A− | C | — | A | A− |
| Ada Township | #34 | A | C− | — | A+ | A+ |
Plainfield Township, Alpine Township, Cannon Township, Grand Rapids Township, Algoma Township and Ada Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Northview isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Plainfield Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Plainfield Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Plainfield Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Plainfield Township grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #80 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A− for health and A for schools.
Is Plainfield Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.