Plainfield, New Jersey demographics

Plainfield, NJ demographics: median age 32.4; 22.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Plainfield city, New Jersey · Incorporated city · GEOID 3459190. The survey estimates a population of 55,236 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Plainfield is 32.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 15,907 households (±615). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	32.4 ±0.9	40.1 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 55,236
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Under 18	15,968 ±1,000	28.9% ±1.8 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	13,958 ±934	25.3% ±1.7 pp	21.3%	22.8%
35–64	19,722 ±1,012	35.7% ±1.8 pp	39.7%	38.0%
65 and older	5,588 ±516	10.1% ±0.9 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 55,236
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Male	27,997 ±836	50.7% ±1.5 pp	49.2%	49.5%
Female	27,239 ±845	49.3% ±1.5 pp	50.8%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 55,236
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
White alone	5,043 ±1,024	9.1% ±1.9 pp	54.0%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	18,431 ±1,428	33.4% ±2.6 pp	12.8%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	298 ±241 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	470 ±252 · low precision	0.9% ±0.5 pp · low precision	10.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±33 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	26,113 ±1,519	47.3% ±2.7 pp	10.1%	7.1%
Two or more races	4,881 ±1,322	8.8% ±2.4 pp	12.4%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 55,236
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	23,680 ±1,445	42.9% ±2.6 pp	77.5%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	31,556 ±1,444	57.1% ±2.6 pp	22.5%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,907
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Married-couple family	6,145 ±492	38.6% ±2.7 pp	49.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,858 ±317	11.7% ±1.9 pp	5.1%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	4,078 ±464	25.6% ±2.7 pp	12.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,854 ±423	17.9% ±2.6 pp	26.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	972 ±268	6.1% ±1.7 pp	5.8%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,907
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Households with people under 18	7,520 ±350	47.3% ±1.2 pp	31.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,387 ±575	52.7% ±3.0 pp	68.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,907
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,854 ±423	17.9% ±2.6 pp	26.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,373 ±407	21.2% ±2.4 pp	31.1%	33.8%
Three-person households	2,781 ±400	17.5% ±2.4 pp	17.1%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,667 ±405	16.8% ±2.5 pp	15.2%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,958 ±334	12.3% ±2.0 pp	6.3%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,174 ±231	7.4% ±1.4 pp	2.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	1,100 ±213	6.9% ±1.3 pp	1.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 55,236
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Native	32,070 ±1,163	58.1% ±2.1 pp	76.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	23,166 ±1,163	41.9% ±2.1 pp	23.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 50,859
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
English only	21,132 ±1,530	41.6% ±3.0 pp	66.9%	77.7%
Spanish	27,327 ±1,571	53.7% ±3.0 pp	17.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	535 ±356 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	33 ±28 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	90 ±77 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	633 ±329 · low precision	1.2% ±0.6 pp · low precision	5.6%	2.0%
Korean	4 ±8 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	7 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	1.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±33 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	18 ±23 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	28 ±34 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.6%	1.1%
Arabic	181 ±137 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	871 ±396	1.7% ±0.8 pp	1.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 34,099
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	9,628 ±865	28.2% ±2.4 pp	9.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	9,972 ±939	29.2% ±2.7 pp	25.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	5,231 ±645	15.3% ±1.9 pp	15.0%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,777 ±329	5.2% ±1.0 pp	6.7%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	4,964 ±657	14.6% ±1.9 pp	26.1%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,527 ±391	7.4% ±1.1 pp	17.6%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 54,413
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New Jersey	U.S.
Same house	46,689 ±1,314	85.8% ±2.4 pp	90.4%	87.7%
Moved within same county	4,188 ±909	7.7% ±1.7 pp	4.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,119 ±860	3.9% ±1.6 pp	2.5%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	527 ±408 · low precision	1.0% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	890 ±400	1.6% ±0.7 pp	0.8%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

28.0% of Plainfield residents (±2.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 7.5% in New Jersey and 8.4% nationally. 95.0% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Plainfield	New Jersey	U.S.	Compared with New Jersey
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	28.0% ±2.0 pp	7.5%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	95.0% ±1.8 pp	92.8%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	2.0% ±0.4 pp	3.7%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Plainfield . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Plainfield housing and cost context or return to the city profile.