Fair Lawn vs Plainfield, NJ

At a glance

• Lower tax billPlainfield, $9,755 a year
  More info

  Plainfield has the lower 2025 average residential tax bill: $9,755 a year, $2,663 less than $12,418 in Fair Lawn. Plainfield is below the NJ average of $10,340 and Fair Lawn is above it.

• Median sale pricePlainfield $515,000 vs Fair Lawn $690,000
  More info

  The median single-family sale price is $515,000 in Plainfield and $690,000 in Fair Lawn, $175,000 more (GSMLS, 2025 closed sales).

• Monthly cost estimatePlainfield $4,369 vs Fair Lawn $5,433
  More info

  On the site's monthly cost estimate (mortgage, property tax, insurance and NJ Transit pass, each on the town's headline median sale price, the same math as the calculator), Plainfield comes to $4,369 a month and Fair Lawn to $5,433, a gap of $1,064.

• Peak commuteFair Lawn 39 min vs Plainfield 59 min
  More info

  Peak commute is 39 minutes in Fair Lawn and 59 minutes in Plainfield, 20 minutes shorter in Fair Lawn.

• NJ Transit passFair Lawn $276 vs Plainfield $376
  More info

  The NJ Transit monthly pass to NY Penn is $276 in Fair Lawn and $376 in Plainfield, $100 more.

• Higher school resultsFair Lawn: 4-year graduation, ELA, math
  More info

  On the district results, Fair Lawn's district is higher on 4-year graduation (97.2% vs 74.0%), ELA (76.6% vs 24.0%) and math (69.6% vs 18.2%).

Figures are from the data file, version 2.5.3. Estimates are labeled. Sources and dates are in each section below. Add a third town in the compare tool.