What stands out worked out from the figures below

Plainfield has the most affordable homes ($272k median).

Amesbury has the most expensive homes ($519k median).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Plainfield	Amesbury
People
Population	15,141Lowest	17,403Highest
Median age	37±4.5Lowest 5% below U.S.	43.7±1.7Highest 12% above U.S.
Kids under 18	19.4%±2.6Lowest U.S.: 22%	20%±2.4Highest U.S.: 22%
	Amesbury and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	16.6%±2.4Lowest U.S.: 17.2%	18.2%±2.1Highest U.S.: 17.2%
	Amesbury and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	15%Lowest U.S.: 35.7%	44.8%Highest U.S.: 35.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.6%±1.8Highest U.S.: 6.4%	4.1%±1.3Lowest U.S.: 6.4%
	Plainfield and Amesbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$76,993±$8kLowest 5% below U.S.	$103,554±$12kHighest 28% above U.S.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$272,100±$16kLowest 18% below U.S.	$519,300±$32kHighest 56% above U.S.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$70Lowest 15% below U.S.	$1,683±$115Highest 19% above U.S.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,209Lowest 35% above U.S.	$7,360Highest 136% above U.S.
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	39.8%±9.5Lowest U.S.: 51.1%	66.7%±10.7Highest U.S.: 51.1%
Below poverty line	8.7%Highest U.S.: 12.5%	7.1%Lowest U.S.: 12.5%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	73.6%Highest U.S.: 65.2%	68.6%Lowest U.S.: 65.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Highest 9 yrs older than U.S.	1969Lowest 11 yrs older than U.S.
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest about the U.S. average	29 minHighest 10% above U.S.
Work from home	10%±4Lowest U.S.: 15.1%	17.4%±2.8Highest U.S.: 15.1%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#131 of 149 in CT	#151 of 282 in MA
School district	Plainfield School District	Amesbury
High school in town	Plainfield High School	Amesbury High
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3Lowest	10.9Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

U.S. average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.