What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Salem has the most people working from home (18%).

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	Salem
People
Population	15,141Highest	4,282Lowest
Median age	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT	40.9±5.4Highest about the CT average
	Salem 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%	23.2%±5.1Highest CT: 20.2%
	Salem 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 CT: 18.5%	19.7%±4.7Highest CT: 18.5%
	Salem 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 CT: 42.5%	50.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.8%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Salem 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	$123,245±$8kHighest 29% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT	$403,600±$33kHighest 10% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT	$1,440±$150Highest 3% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT	$6,668Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	39.8%±9.5Highest CT: 52.6%	32.1%±26Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Plainfield and Salem 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%	6.2%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	73.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	86.6%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT	1988Highest 21 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest about the CT average	32 minHighest 19% above CT
Work from home	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%	18%±9.6Highest CT: 16%
	Salem and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#131 of 149 in CT	#11 of 149 in CT
School district	Plainfield School District	Salem School District
High school in town	Plainfield High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3	—
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.