Work & commute · Plainfield

Work & commute in Plainfield, IL

Most working residents leave Plainfield for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (15%), Naperville (9%) and Joliet (5%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2,056 of 23,316 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 21,260 Plainfield residents head out of town to work, 2,056 work right here, and 12,621 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Plainfield.

21,260live here, work elsewhere

2,056live and work here

12,621work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Plainfield goes to work

Chicago31.7 mi away

15%3,572

Plainfield (in town)right here

9%2,056

Naperville9.6 mi away

9%2,038

Joliet8.2 mi away

5%1,129

Aurora10.5 mi away

5%1,061

Bolingbrook7.7 mi away

3%814

Downers Grove16.1 mi away

3%601

Romeoville6.5 mi away

2%437

Oswego7.3 mi away

2%404

Oak Brook20.6 mi away

1%329

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%10,875

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Plainfield commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

30%

35%

30%

30%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Plainfield is a commuter town

0.63jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.63 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Plainfield are

14,677 jobs are based in Plainfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Plainfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Plainfield

14,677 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Plainfield residents hold

23,316 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+24%

Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 11,868 → 14,677. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.