Best PlacesSouth Plainfield, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Plainfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Plainfield ranks 4,915th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Plainfield
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South Plainfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Plainfield ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of towns
- BikingBetter than 95% of towns
- Household income$130,931 median, better than 95% of towns
Where South Plainfield ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 3% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 18% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Plainfield
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Plainfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $130,931; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South Plainfield's effective rate of 1.76%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Plainfield
South Plainfield runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Plainfield.
Who works in South Plainfield, and how
Work in South Plainfield centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in South Plainfield
South Plainfield has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of towns and more parkland per resident than 92% of towns. The coast is about 17 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Plainfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Plainfield, month by month
South Plainfield sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 71° |
| October | 68° | 59° | 52° |
Flying in and out of South Plainfield
Newark Liberty International sits about 15 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Plainfield
Schools across South Plainfield average a C, better than 38% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- John F Kennedy Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Franklin Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Plainfield Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Grant Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Quibbletown Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- South Plainfield High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Plainfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Plainfield measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South Plainfield against the other 50,332 towns.
Who South Plainfield suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in South Plainfield
Is South Plainfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Plainfield ranks 4,915th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and population health, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Plainfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $471,162. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $130,931 median income, cost of living beats 85% of towns.
Is South Plainfield safe?
South Plainfield is safer than 44% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Plainfield?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of towns.
Is South Plainfield good for families?
Schools beat 38% of towns, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Compare South Plainfield with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Plainfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Plainfield represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South Plainfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Plainfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Plainfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Plainfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Plainfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Plainfield detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.