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Compare towns

Naperville vs Plainfield

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: size (3.2× in Naperville) and home values (+25% in Naperville).

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Naperville, ILHomes around $626KIllinois · 150,692 people
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Plainfield, ILHomes around $429KIllinois · 46,708 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $1,210 more a month in Naperville

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Naperville$4,240/mo
Typical home $626K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.85%+ · or rent about $1,885/mo · Housing →
Plainfield$3,040/mo
Typical home $429K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.20% · or rent about $2,119/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,210 a month, about $14,500 a year, between Naperville and Plainfield.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Where they are

Naperville and Plainfield share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

NapervillePlainfieldNapervillePlainfield
Naperville ↔ Plainfield9.6 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
2,038 Plainfield residents work in Naperville (8.7% of its workers)
Work & commute in Plainfield →
Report cards

Naperville places higher on 16 of 21 IL lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Illinois ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
NapervillePlainfield
Snow a year28″29″
January low16°F—
July high84°F—
Growing season (days)185d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)47th43rd
Outdoors & history
NapervillePlainfield
Conserved land8.4%7%
Settled18311816
National Register places24
Archive photos1812
Famous people born here—15
Community
NapervillePlainfield
Library hours a week73 hrs62 hrs
Colleges in town1—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

NapervillePlainfield
People
Population 150,692Highest 46,708Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +5.4%Lowest +13.1%Highest
Median age 40.4±0.9Highest 4% above IL 37.5±0.9Lowest 4% below IL
Kids under 18 24.8%±0.9Lowest IL: 21.8% 28.5%±2.1Highest IL: 21.8%
Age 65+ 15.3%±0.7Highest IL: 17% 9.9%±1Lowest IL: 17%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 72.5%Highest IL: 37.8% 56%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.1%±0.5Highest IL: 6.3% 5.9%±1Lowest IL: 6.3%
Naperville and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $155,105±$4kHighest 86% above IL $144,000±$9kLowest 73% above IL
Naperville and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $540,200±$9kHighest 105% above IL $431,400±$8kLowest 64% above IL
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,885±$39Lowest 48% above IL $2,119±$188Highest 66% above IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+Highest at least 89% above IL $9,490Lowest 79% above IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 39.5%±4Lowest IL: 47.9% 43.6%±8.2Highest IL: 47.9%
Plainfield and Naperville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 4.4%Highest IL: 11.8% 4.2%Lowest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 74.8%Lowest IL: 67.1% 88%Highest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1990Lowest 19 yrs newer than IL 2003Highest 32 yrs newer than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 31 minLowest 10% above IL 33 minHighest 20% above IL
Work from home 31.1%±1.2Highest IL: 15.9% 23.3%±2.4Lowest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 16.9%Highest 8.8%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 14.3 miLowest 17.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.21Highest 0.63Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Chicago (19%)Chicago (15%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Plainfield9% work in Naperville
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 8.4%Highest 7%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 25.0 miHighest 12.3 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.5 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 133Highest 54Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 102Highest 64.3Lowest
Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Naperville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Naperville’s Town Square.

Plainfield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Plainfield’s Town Square.

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Bordering Naperville

Towns like Naperville

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Illinois towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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