Welcome to Plainfield ...
The city of Plainfield is located in Union County<1>.
Plainfield was established in 1847.
When the people of Plainfield refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Plainfielder<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Plainfield has a population of 50,302 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Plainfield is 90 feet [27 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Plainfield lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Plainfield: (908)
The ZIP code for Plainfield: 07060<5>
Websites for Plainfield ...
Official Website: www.plainfield.com/
Junior League: www.jlepnj.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Plainfield had an population of 50,302 people. This is an increase of 0.99% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 5.17% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Plainfield had a population of 49,808 people (or 9.28% of the total population of Union County). This makes Plainfield the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Plainfield represents 0.57% of the total population of New Jersey (which has 8,791,894 people), making it the state's 16th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 49,808 people, the population of Plainfield increased 4.14% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 47,829 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Plainfield.
Communities Also Named Plainfield ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 27 communities that are also named Plainfield - they are located in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois (2), Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts (3), Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania (2), Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Plainfield.
Communities near Plainfield ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Plainfield.
- Newark
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Newark is located in Essex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 282,520 people
- Elizabeth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
- Elizabeth is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128,382 people
- Bayonne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayonne
- Bayonne is located in Hudson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65,165 people
- East Orange
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orange
- East Orange is located in Essex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,630 people
- New Brunswick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Brunswick
- New Brunswick is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56,182 people
- Perth Amboy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perth Amboy have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perth Amboy
- Perth Amboy is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,309 people
- Linden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Linden is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42,076 people
- Kearny
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearny
- Kearny is located in Hudson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,507 people
- Rahway
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Summit
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Summit is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,812 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Plainfield. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Plainfield.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Plainfield. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Plainfield.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Plainfield. Our list includes 18 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Plainfield.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Plainfield ...
Looking for more information about Plainfield? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Plainfield, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Plainfield.
Adding Plainfield to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Plainfield in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Plainfield was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Plainfield post office opened in 1800.
We also found Plainfield in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Plainfield.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Plainfield: www.plainfield.com/
The official website for Union County: www.unioncountynj.org/
The official website for State of New Jersey: https://www.state.nj.us/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of New Jersey's counties, including Union, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Plainfield refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Plainfield may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Plainfield. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Plainfield - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Plainfield). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Plainfield or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |