Plainfield's Population Tripled in the Last Decade, Census Numbers Show

Plainfield's population has skyrocketed in the last 10 years, more than tripling from 13,038 to 39,581 between 2000 and 2010, U.S. Census numbers released Tuesday show.

The number is more than 2,000 people higher than the 37,334 tallied in a special census conducted by the village in 2007. And it's been a staggering jump when compared to the 1990 census, which showed just 4,557 people living in the town.

The count mirrored the growth seen in Will County, which saw its numbers climb 34.9 in the last decade. There were 502,266 people in 2000 and 677,560 in 2010.

For Plainfield, the largest demographic growth was African-Americans. In 2000, just 110 called the village home. Ten years later, the number is 2,200 -- 5.5 percent of the population.

The count also shows 4,247 people identifying themselves as Hispanic, 3,016 as Asian, 89 as American Indian/Alaska native and 16 as native Hawaiian.