Plainfield, MA

Town in MA, US

By Neilsberg Research

Last updated May 1, 2026

Key Indicators

A quick look at key numbers

Population

616

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Age

50.6

years ∙ half population younger than 50.6, half older

Diversity Index

28%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Nativity

4.7%

foreign-born population

95.3%Native

4.7% Foreign-born

Geographic Context

Location, size, and surroundings

About

Plainfield is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States.

Location

Town in MA, US

Co-ordinates

DEC42.512353° N, 72.918666° W

DMS42° 30′ 44.47″ N, 72° 55′ 07.20″ W

Population Density & area

29.19/sq mi (11.26/km²)

Total Area

21.3 sq mi (55.3 km²)

Land Area

21.1 sq mi (54.7 km²) · 98.9%

Water Area

0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²) · 1.1%

Demographics & Living

Who lives here, how households are formed, and community composition

Population Composition

Key characteristics of the population

Sex Distribution

45% male

Male 45%

Female 55%

males per 100 females

Plainfield 81.7

Massachusetts 95.6

United States 98

Nativity

4.7%

foreign-born population

95.3%Native

4.7% Foreign-born

% Foreign-born

Plainfield 4.7%

Massachusetts 18%

United States 14.1%

Age Distribution

How the population is spread across age groups

Median Age

50.6

years ∙ half population younger than 50.6, half older

Plainfield

50.6

Massachusetts

United States

38.9

Dependency ratio

94.3

dependents per 100 working-age adults

Plainfield 94.3

Massachusetts 59.3

United States 64.4

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of age group

Median age

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Age Group
Children (Under 18)	19%	19.4%	22%
Working age (18-64)	51.5%	62.7%	60.8%
Senior (65+)	29.5%	17.9%	17.2%
Dependency ratio
Total dependency ratio	94.3	59.3	64.4
Child dependency ratio	36.9	30.9	36.1
Old-age dependency ratio	57.4	28.5	28.3

Racial & Ethnic Composition

Racial and ethnic makeup and how it compares

Race & Ethnicity

White

83.9%

Black

Asian

0.5%

Hispanic

1.5%

Other

14.1%

Note: White, Black, and Asian refer to individuals belonging to a single race and not of Hispanic origin. Hispanics may be of any race.

Diversity Index

28%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Plainfield 28%

Massachusetts 52.7%

United States 61.4%

Note: The Diversity Index (DI), based on the Blau Index, measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals differ in race and ethnicity. Values range from 0 (no diversity) to 1 (high diversity) and are shown as percentages.

RACIAL & ETHNIC COMPOSITION

Race & Ethnicity

Percentage of Plainfield population

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Hispanic or Latino	1.5%	13.3%	19.3%
Mexican	0%	0.8%	11.3%
Puerto Rican	0.2%	4.6%	1.8%
Cuban	0%	0.2%	0.8%
Other Hispanic / Latino	1.3%	7.7%	5.5%
Not Hispanic or Latino	98.5%	86.7%	80.7%
One race	86%	81.6%	76.4%
White	83.9%	66.6%	57.4%
Black or African American	0%	6.4%	11.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native	1%	0.1%	0.5%
Asian	0.5%	7.3%	5.9%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0.2%
Some Other Race	0.6%	1.2%	0.6%
Two or more races (Multiracial)	12.5%	5.1%	4.3%

Household & Families Composition

Household size, type, and family structure

Household structure

65.4% family

Family 65.4%

Non family 34.6%

% family households

Plainfield 65.4%

Massachusetts 62.4%

United States 64.2%

Average household size

2.48

persons per household

Plainfield

2.48

Massachusetts

2.44

United States

2.53

Household & Family COMPOSITION

Households

Percentage of Plainfield population

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Total households	246	2,785,042	129,227,496
Average houshold size	2.48	2.44	2.53
Family households	161	1,737,385	82,990,528
Average family size	2.91	3.04	3.14
Married couple family	131	1,277,065	60,637,388
Other families	30	460,320	22,353,140
Male householder	4	130,288	6,572,819
Female householder	26	330,032	15,780,321
Non-family households	85	1,047,657	46,236,968
One-person households	62	800,741	37,140,836
Male householder	35	340,400	16,871,444
Senior (65+) living alone	18	114,936	5,225,110
Female householder	27	460,341	20,269,392
Senior (65+) living alone	7	237,454	10,089,070
Other living arrangements	23	246,916	9,096,132

Housing Profile

Housing stock, ownership, rentals, and cost burdens

Total housing units

290

housing units

Plainfield 290

Massachusetts 3,030,406

United States 143,775,355

Occupancy status

84.8% occupied

Occupied 84.8%

Vacant 15.2%

vacancy rate

Plainfield 15.2%

Massachusetts 8.1%

United States 10.1%

Housing Characteristics

How the housing supply is structured and used

Types of Housing unit

94.5%

Single family houses

94.5%

Apartments in multi-unit structures

1.4%

Mobile homes

4.1%

Boat, RV, van, etc

Median Year Built

1980

Half of houses were built before 1980, and half after.

Historic ∙ 1939 or earlier

26.9%

Postwar & mid-century ∙ 1940 - 1969

17.2%

Late 20th century ∙ 1970 - 1999

41.3%

Modern ∙ 2000 or later

14.5%

Note: Median year built reflects occupied units only; distribution includes all units.

Housing Characteristics

Units, rooms & bedrooms

Physical characteristics of housing units

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Rooms per unit
Median rooms	5.7	5.5	5.5
1–3 rooms	6.6%	17%	15.1%
4–6 rooms	58.3%	49.5%	51.6%
7+ rooms	35.1%	33.4%	33.4%
Bedrooms
No bedroom / studio	2.8%	3%	2.9%
1 bedroom	4.8%	13.7%	10.9%
2 bedrooms	35.2%	27.7%	25%
3 bedrooms	34.5%	34.3%	38.7%
4+ bedrooms	22.8%	21.3%	22.4%
At a glance
Median year built	1980	1964	1981
Total housing units	290	3,030,406	143,775,355

Occupancy Profile

Who is inside and how they use it

Homeownership

98% owners

Renter-occupied 2%

Owner-occupied 98%

homeownership rate

Plainfield 98%

Massachusetts 62.5%

United States 65.2%

Average household size

2.5

Owner-occupied

1.8

Renter-occupied

owner-occupied average size

Plainfield 2.5

Massachusetts 2.62

United States 2.64

Housing Characteristics

Occupied unit characteristics

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Total occupied units	246	2,785,042	129,227,496
Year moved in
2020 or later	12.6%	22.5%	24.8%
2010 to 2019	25.6%	38.6%	39.6%
2000 to 2009	21.1%	16.1%	16.4%
1999 or earlier	40.7%	22.9%	19.1%
Occupants per room
1.00 or fewer	97.6%	97.7%	96.6%
1.01 to 1.50	0.8%	1.5%	2.2%
1.51 or more	1.6%	0.8%	1.2%
Vehicles availability
No vehicles	0%	11.7%	8.4%
1 vehicle	26%	36.1%	33.1%
2 vehicles	46.7%	35.7%	36.6%
3 or more vehicles	27.2%	16.5%	21.9%
House heating fuel used
Gas	25.2%	56.1%	51.4%
Electricity	3.7%	18.6%	41.3%
Solar	2.4%	0.2%	0.3%
Fuel oil, kerosene etc	19.1%	22.4%	3.9%
All other fuels	48.8%	1.9%	2%
No fuel used	0.8%	0.7%	1.2%
Selected characteristics
Lacking complete plumbing	1.2%	0.4%	0.4%
Lacking complete kitchen	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%
No telephone service available	0.8%	0.7%	0.9%

Housing Value

What owner-occupied units are worth

Median home value

$309,000

owner-occupied units

Median value(USD)

Plainfield

$309,000

Massachusetts

$562,100

United States

$332,700

Housing Cost Burden

39.1%

of homeowners with a mortgage are cost-burdened

% Cost-Burdened Households

Owners with a mortgage

39.1%

Owners without a mortgage

31.9%

Renters

40%

Note: Households spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs are considered cost-burdened.

Financial characteristics

Property value and housing costs

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Property value
Median Value	$309,000	$562,100	$332,700
Under $100,000	2.9%	2.9%	11.4%
$100,000 - $200,000	12.1%	3.1%	15.8%
$200,000 - $300,000	33.6%	8.5%	17.8%
$300,000 - $500,000	27.4%	28.7%	26.9%
$500,000 - $1,000,000	22.4%	43.2%	20.9%
$1,000,000 and more	1.7%	13.7%	7.1%
Owner-occupied households
With a mortgage	50.6%	66.4%	60.6%
Without a mortgage	49.4%	33.6%	39.4%
Median monthly owner costs
With a mortgage	$1,850	$2,726	$1,963
Without a mortgage	$770	$1,043	$638
Gross rent
Median rent	$1,292	$1,762	$1,413

Education Profile

How educated is the community and how education pays off

Adults with a college degree

52.6%

of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher

Plainfield 52.6%

Massachusetts 47.3%

United States 35.7%

Adults without a high school diploma

2.3%

of adults (25+) without a high school diploma

Plainfield 2.3%

Massachusetts 8.6%

United States 10.4%

School Enrollment

Who is enrolled in school and at what level

School enrollment

148

population (age 3+) enrolled in school

Nursery / Preschool

2.7%

K–12

75%

College / Undergraduate

5.4%

Graduate / Professional

16.9%

College-going rate (18-24 yr olds)

29%

of 18-24-year-olds in college or graduate school

Plainfield

29%

Massachusetts

50.5%

United States

40.9%

Enrollment & school type

Enrollment levels, college-going rate, and public vs private school split

Population 3+ currently enrolled in a school

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Total enrolled (age 3+)	148	1,677,525	80,089,790
Nursery / preschool	2.7%	6%	5.7%
K–12	75%	60.9%	67.6%
Kindergarten	7.4%	4.4%	5%
Elementary: Grades 1–4	12.8%	17.3%	19.8%
Elementary: Grades 5–8	10.1%	18.7%	21%
High School: Grades 9–12	44.6%	20.4%	21.7%
College or graduate school	22.3%	33.2%	26.7%
College, undergraduate	5.4%	24.3%	21%
Graduate, professional school	16.9%	8.9%	5.8%
College-going rate · 18-24 yr olds	29%	50.5%	40.9%
School type
Public school	83.1%	71.9%	82%
Private school	16.9%	28.1%	18%

Education Attainment by Level & Gender

What is the highest level of education completed among adults

Education attainment

468

population 25 years and over

Total adults (25+)

Less than 9th grade

0.4%

9th-12th, no diploma

1.9%

HS graduate

23.1%

Some college no degree

13.2%

Associates degree

8.8%

Bachelors degree

21.4%

Graduate or professional degree

31.2%

Attainment by gender

Male vs Female

Adults (25+) · Share within each education level

% male · % female

Less than 9th grade

100% · 0%

9th-12th, no diploma

33.3% · 66.7%

HS graduate

68.5% · 31.5%

Some college no degree

50% · 50%

Associates degree

22% · 78%

Bachelors degree

60% · 40%

Graduate or professional degree

32.9% · 67.1%

Educational Attainment Overview

Distribution and key education attainment rates for adults (25+)

Highest credential completed · adults 25+

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Population (25+)	468	4,987,302	230,807,303
Less than 9th grade	0.4%	4.3%	4.7%
9th–12th, no diploma	1.9%	4.3%	5.7%
High school diploma or GED	23.1%	22.6%	26%
Some college, no degree	13.2%	14.1%	19.1%
Associate's degree	8.8%	7.5%	8.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	52.6%	47.3%	35.7%
Bachelor's degree	21.4%	25.5%	21.6%
Graduate or professional	31.2%	21.8%	14.1%
High School or higher	97.6%	91.4%	89.6%

Earnings by education level

percentage as applicable

Median Earnings

$45,089

Median earnings for adults 25+, by level

Less than HS graduate

$30,625

HS graduate

$40,625

Some college or associates

$45,313

Bachelors degree

$32,500

Graduate or professional degree

$71,563

Poverty Rate

6.9%

for ages 25+, with bachelors degree or higher

Less than HS graduate

18.2%

HS graduate

19.4%

Some college or associates

17.5%

Bachelors degree or higher

6.9%

Outcomes by Education Level

Earnings and poverty rates across education levels (25+)

Adults 25+

	Plainfield	Massachusetts	United States
Median earnings
Population 25+, with earnings	$45,089	$66,782	$52,696
Less than high school graduate	$30,625	$36,200	$32,485
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	$40,625	$46,175	$40,153
Some college or associate's degree	$45,313	$52,923	$47,260
Bachelor's degree	$32,500	$81,726	$70,044
Graduate or professional degree	$71,563	$102,561	$90,720
Poverty rates
Less than high school graduate	18.2%	25.1%	24.2%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	19.4%	12.9%	14.4%
Some college or associate's degree	17.5%	9.3%	9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	6.9%	4.1%	4.5%

Insights for Plainfield, by topic

Income By year By race By age By gender

Population By year By race By age By gender

About Neilsberg Research

Neilsberg Research team are data scientists with expertise in processing, analysis and visualization of big data helping small businesses make right decisions.

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