Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 28/100
F
Median home value$410,800
New York $614,200
Median rent$1,767/mo
New York $1,830/mo
Cost-burdened households47%
New York 42%
Plainfield
Union County55,236 residentsPlainfield Public School District
39
D−
Suburbgrade score
60th of 60 New York suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
39
New York median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Plainfield yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 39 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 New York. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 33/100
F
Within-state proficiency7th pct
New York median 35th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.6
New York median 11.6
Graduation rate72%
New York median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 55/100
C−
Housing cost index90
New York 100
Eff. tax rate2.21%
New York 1.37%
Local sales tax6.60%
New York median 8.54%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 37/100
F
Mean commute29.5 min
New York 35.6 min
Under 30 minutes53%
New York 44%
Transit stops / sq mi0.7
New York median 2.5 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 56/100
C−
Restaurants & cafés21
New York median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
New York median 8 · within 2 miles
Parks20
New York median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 35/100
F
Median household income$85,908
New York $99,155
Unemployment8.9%
New York 6.8%
Professional occupations23%
New York 48%
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 housing & affordability
Plainfield's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Westfield5 mi from PlainfieldB− 70 B− Hoboken22 mi from PlainfieldC 69 B− Old Bridge16 mi from PlainfieldD 56 C− Sayreville11 mi from PlainfieldD− 54 C− Jersey City20 mi from PlainfieldF 53 C− Clifton22 mi from PlainfieldF 53 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Plainfield
Is Plainfield, NJ a good place to live?
Plainfield scores 39 out of 100, 60th of 60 New York suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Plainfield expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $410,800, 33% below the New York median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.21%. $1,767/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Plainfield?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Plainfield sit at the 7th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 72% graduation rate and a 11.6 student–teacher ratio. Plainfield is served by Plainfield Public School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Plainfield?
The mean commute is 29.5 min, with 53% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 6.8% working from home. Transit density is 0.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Plainfield?
Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 21 restaurants and cafés and 20 parks, which grades C− on amenities.
Are the homes in Plainfield old or new?
The median home in Plainfield was built in 1952 — older than the New York median of 1960. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 47% 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.