Grace Episcopal Church · Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Plainfield has higher unemployment (8.9%) than 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Plainfield B−; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 8.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City. Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers (New Jersey 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Plainfield and work: the main findings
Plainfield’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Plainfield is New York City, NY, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (2,118) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Plainfield is a place people come home to
There are 6,186 jobs based in Plainfield, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Plainfield has about 42,000 people in it, 26% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Where Plainfield’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Plainfield is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #409 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Plainfield’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plainfield could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Plainfield’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Plainfield
On a workday 19,722 residents head out to work, 1,341 work right here, and 4,845 people come in from elsewhere.
About 42,000 people are in Plainfield on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.29 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.
10% of working residents work in New York City
Where Plainfield clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Plainfield: what the 6,186 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 7,918 → 6,186. 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.
The daily trip from Plainfield: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plainfield workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 25,019 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Plainfield, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plainfield is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #154 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Plainfield near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 26,839 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 76% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 12.7% of Plainfield households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Plainfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Plainfield is 546th of 773 U.S. towns of 40,000 to 77,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Marlboro Township NJ | 42,254 | $186K | 3.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Bridgewater Township NJ | 46,455 | $173K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Wayne Township NJ | 54,819 | $153K | 3.4% | 4.9% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 544 | Council Bluffs IA | 62,680 | $65K | 15.1% | 4.2% | 37% | B− |
| 545 | Redford Township MI | 47,432 | $69K | 11.6% | 6.8% | 3% | B− |
| 546 | Plainfield NJ | 57,141 | $86K | 15.5% | 8.9% | 6% | B− |
| 547 | Mankato MN | 46,529 | $67K | 20.6% | 6.0% | 47% | B− |
| 548 | Lakewood WA | 62,755 | $75K | 13.2% | 5.7% | 15% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 773 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Jersey.
Plainfield and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plainfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | – | B− | A+ | 30 min | $85,908 |
| North Plainfield | under 3% | B− | A | 31 min | $87,349 |
| Watchung | under 3% | A | A | 34 min | $173,672 |
| Scotch Plains Township | under 3% | A+ | A | 34 min | $183,655 |
| Green Brook Township | under 3% | A | A | 30 min | $208,375 |
| Dunellen | under 3% | B− | A | 32 min | $86,967 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$85,908 (±$3,620) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plainfield?
15.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plainfield work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (10%, 25 mi), Edison Township (5%, 8 mi), South Plainfield (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plainfield walkable?
Plainfield is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plainfield without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 76% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.