Plainfield Township has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For jobs and income Plainfield Township is better than 16% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (B−). There are 382 jobs in Plainfield Township, and 933 of its residents work somewhere. Measured by household income, Plainfield Township is behind 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Plainfield Township
A big share show a job far from home
47% 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 ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Plainfield Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Plainfield Township fell from 588 in 2011 to 382 in 2021, −35%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Plainfield Township workers earn over $40,000 a year
40% of Plainfield Township’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published; with 933 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Plainfield Township’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Plainfield Township’s grade up (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns).
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plainfield Township could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How far it is to work from Plainfield Township
About 47% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What Plainfield Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield Township, 2011 → 2021: 588 → 382. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Plainfield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Plainfield Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 815 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 264 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Plainfield Township on a workday afternoon, 16% 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 2021, primary jobs.
7% of working residents work in Tawas City
Where Plainfield Township clocks in
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.
About 30 minutes each way for Plainfield Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 978 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% 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 Plainfield Township gets around
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,117 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.8% of Plainfield Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Plainfield Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Plainfield Township next to U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500: 3,880th of 4,593 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Dexter MI | 4,461 | $107K | 0.8% | 2.1% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,878 | Rochester PA | 3,358 | $43K | 23.6% | 9.4% | 3% | C− |
| 3,879 | Hazlehurst MS | 3,435 | $44K | 33.0% | 4.4% | 21% | C− |
| 3,880 | Plainfield Township MI | 3,353 | $52K | 16.1% | 3.6% | 13% | C− |
| 3,881 | China Lake Acres CA | 2,594 | $69K | 21.9% | 4.7% | 1% | C− |
| 3,882 | Grant Township MI | 3,437 | $61K | 23.9% | 5.2% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Michigan.
Plainfield Township and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield Township | – | C− | B− | 30 min | $52,035 |
| Oscoda Township | under 2% | D− | B | 17 min | $43,125 |
| Hill Township | under 2% | D | C− | 38 min | $64,453 |
| Goodar Township | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Reno Township | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Wilber Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Grant Township | under 2% | D | C− | 29 min | $56,193 |
| Curtis Township | under 2% | D− | B− | 32 min | $39,180 |
Same-state neighbors only. Goodar Township, Reno Township and Wilber Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. 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 2021, 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?
$52,035 (±$9,759) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield Township?
16.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield Township?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tawas City (7%, 16 mi), Baldwin Township (4%, 16 mi), West Branch (3%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Plainfield Township walkable?
Plainfield Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainfield Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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), 2021, 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.