Photo: Bill Marrs · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Plainfield (0.6%) than in 97% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns. Plainfield grades A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in ten stay in Plainfield for work; outside it, Lebanon is the main destination (34%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Plainfield
A lot of Plainfield works one town over
37% of working residents work in a town that borders Plainfield: Lebanon (34%) and Cornish (3%). Next door ↓
Plainfield has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Plainfield went from 401 in 2013 to 554 in 2023, +38%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Plainfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across New Hampshire. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Hampshire 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Plainfield’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Plainfield is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #41 of 126 in New Hampshire. Unemployment holds Plainfield’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 18% of U.S. towns). 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, Plainfield could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Jobs in Plainfield: what the 554 are
554 jobs are based in Plainfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 401 → 554. 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.
About 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of New Hampshire
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,012 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across New Hampshire: 87% 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.
How a workday changes Plainfield
On a workday 926 residents head out to work, 105 work right here, and 449 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Plainfield on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
Where people from Plainfield work
Where Plainfield clocks in
34% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Plainfield
About 21% 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.
Most of Plainfield commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plainfield is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #58 of 126 in New Hampshire. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across New Hampshire, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,235 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). 1.6% of Plainfield households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Plainfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Plainfield is 738th of 5,083 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 253 | Mont Vernon NH | 2,698 | $158K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 281 | Hampton Falls NH | 2,379 | $166K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 321 | Kensington NH | 2,092 | $165K | 1.9% | 3.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 736 | Sparta WI | 3,277 | $94K | 5.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A− |
| 737 | Topton PA | 2,062 | $93K | 4.8% | 4.0% | 2% | A− |
| 738 | Plainfield NH | 2,560 | $123K | 5.2% | 0.6% | 10% | A− |
| 739 | Troy Township OH | 2,408 | $91K | 10.1% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| 740 | Cumings TX | 2,535 | $136K | 0.0% | 14.7% | 0% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 New Hampshire.
Next door is work for 37% of Plainfield
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | – | A− | B− | 22 min | $122,656 |
| Cornish | 3% | B | D | 24 min | $91,821 |
| Grantham | under 2% | A− | D | 23 min | $106,403 |
| Lebanon | 34% | A− | A | 14 min | $98,147 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lebanon. 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?
$122,656 (±$13,190) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield?
5.2%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lebanon (34%, 7 mi), Hartford (6%, 10 mi), Claremont (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainfield walkable?
Plainfield is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% 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. 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.