Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 24,891, settled in 1887.
South Plainfield grades B− overall, ranked 268th of 466 in New Jersey, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $130K and it is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $581K, 5.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. South Plainfield is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. Only 24 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score lower on history. South Plainfield’s median rent is $2,107 a month, above both the New Jersey town median ($1,778 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
Where South Plainfield beats most towns.
Where South Plainfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far South Plainfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,047 in 1930, 24,338 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2022 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Plainfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw28 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw26 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw23 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw28 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearMadison 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 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in South 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 South Plainfield.
South Plainfield draws workers from Piscataway Township and beyond, is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
19,722 jobs are based in South Plainfield, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave South Plainfield for work: only 10% work in town. 3% of residents live below the poverty line in South Plainfield. The top destinations are New York (8%), Edison Township (7%) and Piscataway Township (4%).
| South Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $130,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 17% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the South Plainfield School District. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Elementary SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 568 | C+ |
| South Plainfield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,044 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 51% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Against the 4,525 U.S. towns with household incomes like South Plainfield’s, it is healthier than 61%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
14% of South Plainfield adults have been diagnosed with depression. South Plainfield beats the New Jersey average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 9.8% of South Plainfield adults smoke cigarettes.
| South Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | South Plainfield | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.5% | 7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.4% | 14.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
South Plainfield has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 24.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 79% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
South Plainfield’s property crime rate is 20.1 per 1,000 residents.
| South Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
353 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 63 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 353 flood insurance claims have been paid out in South Plainfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Jersey average. South Plainfield has grown 2.3% since 2020, to 24,891 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| South Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 18% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.5 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.0, men 40.3.
| South Plainfield | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.7% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.8% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.7% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.6% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.6% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.2% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.8% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1.2 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The trail density in South Plainfield is 0.1 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, at 260 acres.
| South Plainfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.1% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve | 0.8 mi | 260 |
| 2. Memorial Park | — | 27 |
| 3. Park Ave Nature Walk | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Typical home values rose 4.7% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
18 within 15 miles of the center of South Plainfield
About 7 of every 100 South Plainfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
3 notable people were born in South Plainfield.
Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, US
South Plainfield is a borough in northern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is situated on the border with Union County in the Raritan Valley region, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 24,338, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 953 (+4.1%) from the 23,385 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,575 (+7.2%) from the 21,810 counted in the 2000 census. South Plainfield was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1926, from portions of Piscataway, based on the results of a referendum passed on April 6, 1926. The borough's nam…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with South Plainfield.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Plainfield | #268 | B− | D | C+ | B | A |
| Piscataway Township | #229 | B | D | — | B | A |
| Edison Township | #210 | B+ | D | C+ | A− | A |
Piscataway Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare South Plainfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Plainfield grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #268 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Cost of living 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.
3 notable people were born here, including Greg Garbowsky and Josh Pauls.
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