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Plainfield vs Naperville

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

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Plainfield, ILHomes around $429KIllinois · 46,708 people
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Naperville, ILHomes around $626KIllinois · 150,692 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.

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

Plainfield and Naperville share a border

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

PlainfieldNapervillePlainfieldNaperville
Plainfield ↔ Naperville9.6 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
PlainfieldNaperville
Snow a year29″28″
January low—16°F
July high—84°F
Growing season (days)—185d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)43rd47th
Outdoors & history
PlainfieldNaperville
Conserved land7%8.4%
Settled18161831
National Register places42
Archive photos1218
Famous people born here15—
Community
PlainfieldNaperville
Library hours a week62 hrs73 hrs
Colleges in town—1
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.

PlainfieldNaperville
People
Population 46,708Lowest 150,692Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +13.1%Highest +5.4%Lowest
Median age 37.5±0.9Lowest 4% below IL 40.4±0.9Highest 4% above IL
Kids under 18 28.5%±2.1Highest IL: 21.8% 24.8%±0.9Lowest IL: 21.8%
Age 65+ 9.9%±1Lowest IL: 17% 15.3%±0.7Highest IL: 17%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 56%Lowest IL: 37.8% 72.5%Highest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.9%±1Lowest IL: 6.3% 6.1%±0.5Highest 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 $144,000±$9kLowest 73% above IL $155,105±$4kHighest 86% 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 $431,400±$8kLowest 64% above IL $540,200±$9kHighest 105% above IL
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,119±$188Highest 66% above IL $1,885±$39Lowest 48% above IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $9,490Lowest 79% above IL $10,000+Highest at least 89% above IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 43.6%±8.2Highest IL: 47.9% 39.5%±4Lowest 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 4.2%Lowest IL: 11.8% 4.4%Highest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 88%Highest IL: 67.1% 74.8%Lowest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 2003Highest 32 yrs newer than IL 1990Lowest 19 yrs newer than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 33 minHighest 20% above IL 31 minLowest 10% above IL
Work from home 23.3%±2.4Lowest IL: 15.9% 31.1%±1.2Highest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 8.8%Lowest 16.9%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.3 miHighest 14.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.63Lowest 1.21Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Chicago (15%)Chicago (19%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 9% work in NapervilleFew work in Plainfield
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 7%Lowest 8.4%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 12.3 miLowest 25.0 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miLowest 0.6 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 54Lowest 133Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 64.3Lowest 102Highest
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.

Plainfield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Plainfield’s Town Square.

Naperville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Naperville’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Plainfield

Towns like Plainfield

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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