North Plainfield, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids North Plainfield, New Jersey
Borough
Washington Park Historic District
Seal
Location of North Plainfield in Somerset County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Somerset County in New Jersey highlighted in black (left).
Census Bureau map of North Plainfield, New Jersey
North Plainfield, New Jersey Location in Somerset County, New Jersey Show map of Somerset County, New Jersey North Plainfield, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey North Plainfield, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Somerset
Incorporated	June 9, 1885
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	2.82 sq mi (7.31 km2)
• Land	2.81 sq mi (7.27 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)  0.46%
Area rank	351st of 565 in state 14th of 21 in county
Elevation	72 ft (22 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	22,808
• Estimate  (2023)	22,566
• Rank	118th of 565 in state 6th of 21 in county
• Density	8,125.4/sq mi (3,137.2/km2)
• Density rank	47th of 565 in state 1st of 21 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07060, 07062, 07063
Area code(s)	732 and 908
FIPS code	3403553280
GNIS feature ID	0885326

North Plainfield is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,808, an increase of 872 (+4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 21,936, which in turn reflected an increase of 833 (+3.9%) from the 21,103 counted in the 2000 census.

North Plainfield Township was created from portions of Warren Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature passed on April 2, 1872. The borough of North Plainfield became an independent municipality on June 9, 1885. The name derives from Plainfield, which derived its name from a local estate or from its scenic location.

In 1902, the New Jersey Legislature approved measures that would have allowed the borough to become part of Union County (a measure repealed in 1903) and to allow for a merger of North Plainfield with the City of Plainfield subject to the approval of a referendum by voters in both municipalities.

North Plainfield is home to the Washington Park Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, North Plainfield borough had a total area of 2.82 square miles (7.31 km²), including 2.81 square miles (7.27 km²) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) of water (0.46%).

The borough is bordered by the municipalities of Watchung to the north, Green Brook Township to the southwest, all in Somerset County; and to the south by Plainfield in Union County.

North Plainfield is in the northern division of the Raritan Valley along with Green Brook.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 21,936 people, 7,448 households, and 5,266 families in the borough. The population density was 7,850.0 per square mile (3,030.9/km²). There were 7,848 housing units at an average density of 2,808.5 per square mile (1,084.4/km²). The racial makeup was 55.01% (12,066) White, 18.85% (4,134) Black or African American, 0.29% (63) Native American, 5.81% (1,275) Asian, 0.05% (12) Pacific Islander, 16.00% (3,510) from other races, and 3.99% (876) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44.21% (9,699) of the population.

Of the 7,448 households, 35.8% had children under the age of 18; 48.3% were married couples living together; 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 29.3% were non-families. Of all households, 22.8% were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.40.

24.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 100.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 98.5 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $67,815 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,878) and the median family income was $70,359 (+/− $5,666). Males had a median income of $42,766 (+/− $2,549) versus $43,057 (+/− $3,208) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $27,529 (+/− $1,466). About 5.3% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The North Plainfield School District, serves public school students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,342 students and 304.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are East End Elementary School (423 students; in grades Pre-K–4), Stony Brook Elementary School (253; Pre-K–4), West End Elementary School (488; K–4), Somerset Intermediate School (516; 5–6), North Plainfield Middle School (544; 7–8) and North Plainfield High School (1,052; 9–12).

Transportation

U.S. Route 22 in North Plainfield, the largest and busiest highway in the borough

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough has a total of 49.77 miles (80.10 km) of roads, of which 39.28 miles (63.22 km) were maintained by the municipality, 7.22 miles (11.62 km) by the county and 3.27 miles (5.26 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Major roadways in the borough include U.S. Route 22. County Route 531 also passes through.

Public transportation

NJ Transit rail service is available at the Plainfield station on the Raritan Valley Line to Newark Penn Station, with connecting service to Hoboken Terminal and Penn Station New York.

NJ Transit bus service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan is available on the 114 and 117 routes, to Newark on the 65 and 66 routes, with local service on the 822 and 986 routes.

Starting in May 2017, Community Access Transit began operating the 2R bus from North Plainfield to Raritan Valley Community College, with stops in the communities of Somerville and Raritan.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with North Plainfield include:

See also

In Spanish: North Plainfield para niños