A city of 55,236, settled in 1847. Home to 19 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 3 things Plainfield does most differently from other towns.
1880 · 1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…6 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 19 places on the National Register.
Where Plainfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Be the first to start the conversation.
Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Plainfield. Another town gets a different order.
Plainfield beats the New Jersey average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 23.
| What stands out | Plainfield | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 7.5% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.9% | 22.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 27% | 11.3% |
1.7 miles of trails across 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Brook Park | 1.3 mi | 51 |
| 2. Cedar Brook Park | 0.3 mi | 70 |
| 3. Mathewson Park | — | 1 |
The typical Plainfield home is worth about $520,000, up 0.6% in a year, 10% below the New Jersey typical home.
The public schools Plainfield’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 94% of New Jersey’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School | PK–5 | 816 | Not graded |
| Cedarbrook Elementary School | K–8 | 671 | A− |
| Cresthaven Academy Charter School | K–8 | 621 | C− |
| Washington Community School | PK–5 | 557 | D− |
| Dewitt D. Barlow Elementary School | K–5 | 423 | Not graded |
| Emerson Community School | K–5 | 414 | C |
Most working residents leave Plainfield for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are New York (10%), Edison (5%) and South Plainfield (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 85% of U.S. communities.
Plainfield has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 87°, a January night drops to 23°, and about 21 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
Plainfield's reported crime rate is above New Jersey's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 230 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
19 places in Plainfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Union County, New Jersey, US
Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City," it serves as both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a bedroom suburb of the New York Metropolitan area, located in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population, majority Latino for the first time, was 54,586. This was an increase of 4,778 (+9.6%) from the 2010 census count of 49,808, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,979 (+4.1%) from the 47,829 counted in the 2000 census. In 2023, the Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 54,670. The area of present-day Plainfield was originally formed as Plainfield Township, a township that…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Plainfield.
