Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 75/100
B
Median home value$431,400
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$2,119/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households25%
Chicago 33%
Plainfield
Will & Kendall counties46,708 residents2 school districts
59
C
Suburbgrade score
33rd of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strong on employment & income and housing & affordability, held back by cost of living.
59
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Plainfield yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 59 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Plainfield is like to live in, by category
Bars show Plainfield against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 69/100
B−
Within-state proficiency66th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio15.3
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 36/100
F
Housing cost index127
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate2.14%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 36/100
F
Mean commute33.3 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes44%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi0.1
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 56/100
C−
Restaurants & cafés19
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks49
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 75/100
B
Median household income$144,000
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment3.8%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations54%
Chicago 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Plainfield yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Plainfield on cost of living
Plainfield's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Downers Grove16 mi from PlainfieldC 68 B− Addison24 mi from PlainfieldC 56 C− Orland Park19 mi from PlainfieldC 61 C Woodridge12 mi from PlainfieldC 64 C+ Tinley Park22 mi from PlainfieldC− 55 C− Romeoville7 mi from PlainfieldC− 57 C− Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Plainfield
Is Plainfield, IL a good place to live?
Plainfield scores 59 out of 100, 33rd of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on employment & income and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Plainfield expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades F. The median home is $431,400, 34% above the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.14%. $2,119/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Plainfield?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Plainfield sit at the 66th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 15.3 student–teacher ratio. Plainfield is served by Plainfield SD 202 and Cusd 308. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
The mean commute is 33.3 min, with 44% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 23% working from home. Transit density is 0.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Plainfield?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 19 restaurants and cafés and 49 parks, which grades C− on amenities.
Are the homes in Plainfield old or new?
The median home in Plainfield was built in 2003 — newer than the Chicago median of 1971. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 92% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.