What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Burlington has the most people working from home (25%).

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	Burlington
People
Population	15,141Highest	9,680Lowest
Median age	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT	39.9±2.4Highest about the CT average
	Burlington and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±2.6Lowest CT: 20.2%	25.9%±3.3Highest CT: 20.2%
Age 65+	16.6%±2.4Highest CT: 18.5%	13.7%±1.9Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Plainfield and Burlington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	15%Lowest CT: 42.5%	50.8%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	7.5%±2Highest CT: 7.1%
	Burlington and Plainfield 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 20% below CT	$165,120±$13kHighest 72% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT	$418,700±$21kHighest 14% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT	$1,427±$671Highest 4% below CT
	Burlington and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT	$7,464Highest 12% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	39.8%±9.5Lowest CT: 52.6%	46.1%±15.9Highest CT: 52.6%
	Burlington and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.7%Highest CT: 10%	2.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	73.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	94.6%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT	1981Highest 14 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest about the CT average	29 minHighest 9% above CT
Work from home	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%	25%±4.1Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#131 of 149 in CT	#58 of 149 in CT
School district	Plainfield School District	Regional School District 10
High school in town	Plainfield High School	Lewis S. Mills High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3Lowest	11.4Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

CT 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.