One downside of living in Plainfield, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.60 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
For the size of the city, public transportation in Plainfield is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking taxis. For Plainfield, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.
The education level of Plainfield citizens is a little higher than the average for US cities and towns: 22.99% of adults in Plainfield have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Plainfield in 2018 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.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Plainfield's cultural character, accounting for 39.26% of the city’s population.
The most common language spoken in Plainfield is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and French.
