Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Plainfield earns a D−, 451st among New Jersey's 466 graded towns, mostly because of schools and health. Its public schools score at or near the bottom of New Jersey. Residents are less healthy than 77% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 19 places on the National Register. On hazard risk, just 41 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Crescent Area Historic District and Netherwood Station. Homes are expensive, about $516K for a typical one and 5.2 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income.
Where Plainfield beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Nathaniel Drake House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School | PK–5 | 816 |
| Cedarbrook Elementary School | K–8 | 671 |
| Cresthaven Academy Charter School | K–8 | 621 |
Its 19 National Register listings are more than in 97% of New Jersey towns with a listing.
Census counts: 5,095 in 1870, 54,586 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Plainfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Plainfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw26 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw25 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw26 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi BeachConey IslandMadison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plainfield, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Plainfield.
Plainfield carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding), but it scores below Dunellen and its other neighbors on health and trails Watchung and its other neighbors on schools.
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D−, Watchung highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Plainfield Public School District. Three of its 22 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles and Anna Booker Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 816 | – |
| Plainfield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,077 | – |
| Cedarbrook Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 671 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $415 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 961 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 176 properties have flooded more than once.
At 85 of 100, Plainfield’s FEMA risk score is where New Jersey’s towns sit at 52 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Since 1979, 961 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Plainfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
All 5 graded neighbors score healthier than its C−, from Dunellen (C) to Scotch Plains Township (A+).
46% of Plainfield adults sleep under 7 hours, above both New Jersey’s towns (36%) and U.S. towns (36%). 35% of Plainfield adults get no exercise outside work. Plainfield beats the New Jersey average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 23.
| Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 36% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 11% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Plainfield | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 7.5% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.9% | 22.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 27% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Plainfield has 6,186 jobs for its 21,063 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 7,918 in 2013 to 6,186.
Most working residents leave Plainfield for work: only 6% work in town. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Plainfield. Jobs based in Plainfield fell to 6,186 in 2023, 1,732 fewer than in 2013.
| Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Plainfield has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Plainfield's reported crime rate is above New Jersey's. The violent crime rate in Plainfield is 4.1 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 16.1 per 1,000 residents | 8.9 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
1.7 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Cedar Brook Park, at 70 acres. Plainfield’s trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Brook Park | 1.3 mi | 51 |
| 2. Cedar Brook Park | 0.3 mi | 70 |
| 3. Mathewson Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Plainfield home is worth about $517,000, up 0.6% in a year, 10% below the New Jersey typical home.
| Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 45% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,767 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
18 within 15 miles of the center of Plainfield
About 4 of every 100 Plainfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Plainfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
19 places in Plainfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
37 notable people were born in Plainfield.
City in Union County, New Jersey, US
Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City," it serves as both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a bedroom suburb of the New York Metropolitan area, located in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population, majority Latino for the first time, was 54,586. This was an increase of 4,778 (+9.6%) from the 2010 census count of 49,808, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,979 (+4.1%) from the 47,829 counted in the 2000 census. In 2023, the Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 54,670. The area of present-day Plainfield was originally formed as Plainfield Township, a township that…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Plainfield.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Dunellen (D) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | #451 | D− | D | — | D− | C− |
| North Plainfield | #410 | D | D | C+ | C− | B− |
| Watchung | #272 | B− | D− | C− | A− | A+ |
| Scotch Plains Township | #72 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Green Brook Township | #174 | A− | D | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Dunellen | #421 | D | D | — | C+ | C |
Plainfield and Dunellen report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Plainfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Plainfield grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #451 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades C− for health and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
37 notable people were born here, including Bill Evans and Irving Penn.
_-_Full_(48124330357).jpg){kind=link}
_-_Central_Park,_NYC.jpg){kind=link}
