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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Plainfield, NJ
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Plainfield profile


Living in Plainfield



Plainfield is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 54,513 people and 12 associated neighborhoods, Plainfield is the 26th largest community in New Jersey.

One downside of living in Plainfield is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Plainfield, the average commute to work is 30.60 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Plainfield’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in Plainfield use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Plainfield‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding taxis. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

The population of Plainfield overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Plainfield, 22.99% have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Plainfield in 2022 was $28,788, which is low income relative to New Jersey, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $115,152 for a family of four. However, Plainfield contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Plainfield is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Plainfield home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Plainfield, accounting for 52.36% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Plainfield residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Plainfield include Jamaican, Haitian, Trinidadian and Tobagonian, Italian, and African.

In addition, Plainfield has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (39.26%).

The most common language spoken in Plainfield is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and French.