Editorial Thoughts and Comments by Kim White

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So, why would the Town report $107,910 (average income) instead of $87,272 (median income)?

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Let’s start with where did the Town gets it’s number from?

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I wanted to know – so I went down to the Town and asked.  But, before I went, I did some research on my own.

 

I could find $107,910 on the internet in only one place: Points2Home. 

 

Points2Home is a for profit company that is an online real estate marketplace, focusing on rental properties.  (By the way, in the roughly 6 weeks since the Town published the $107,910 average income, Points2Homes now reports that the average household income has DECREASED to $104,254.  Crazy.  Not a very stable way of calculating/reporting income for an area.)

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Points2Home also reports the MEDIAN household income for the Town:  $87,272. 

 

That’s interesting….same as the US Census.

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So – why did the Town report the AVERAGE?

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I discussed this matter in person and via email with Nate Thorne, Assistant Town Manager.

 

I told Nate that $107,910 was:

• false and misleading

• not what the US Census reports ($87,272); and

• not cross-referenced to its source.

 

Nate agreed that any number should be crossed referenced and that he would find out where the Town got the $107,910 number from.

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While I waited for answers, I wondered:

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• Did the individuals involved in putting together the Centric report not research how a town should report household income?  Should it report AVERAGE or MEDIAN?

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• What is the standard way to reference household income?  AVERAGE or MEDIAN?

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• Did those individuals not know the difference between AVERAGE and MEDIAN? 

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• Did those individuals think that reporting the higher number would better because it was higher and would reflect better on the Town? 

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I don’t know…but any number that a government puts out into the universe should be accurate; should be traceable; and should be reported in the “standard” way. 

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The $107,910 does not meet any of these criteria.  It is not accurate, it was not cross-referenced back to where the number came from, and is not the standard way of reporting household income.

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Eventually, Nate informed me that the $107,910 came from ESRI Business Analyst that the Town subscribes to. 

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So, what is ESRI?  It’s a lot of things….but in reference to average household income the Town reported, that number is an ESTIMATE. 

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I’ve requested and am still waiting on the data report that was used to create the 2025 Citizen Centric Report.  Tick…tock…

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But back to the point…..$107,910.

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That is an insane number for our Town. 

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I did not understand why the Town would publish such a number and then it struck me….

• IF the citizens of our Town believe their neighbors are making that much a year,

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• WHEN the Town offsets property tax reductions by INCREASING the Local Income Tax (LIT),

 

• THEN the more we will accept the increase without question.  We will think….the majority of people make that much or more, so yeah let the Town raise taxes on us.  NO!!!!

 

Our Town is made up of individuals from all income brackets.  We have the rich and poor. 

 

We have, and are continuing to add, more and more apartments because we need to provide housing for the workers who work in the warehouse kingdom we have created. 

 

Do you think this will increase our median household income?  I don’t think so…here's why:

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The average warehouse worker in Plainfield makes just $35,319 a year. (source)

That’s $16.98/hr; $679/week; $2,943/month. 

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A 2 bedroom apartment in Plainfield rents for $1,850/month on average.(source) 

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So the average warehouse worker who lives in Plainfield only has $1,093/month for the basics like food, gas, car, insurance, credit card bills, etc.  This is not much.

 

The $107,910 AVERAGE household income does help sell the idea that someone could buy an “affordable” home in Plainfield for $350,000. 

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According to Freddie Mac, a person who makes $107,910 a year could afford a $343,191 house (with 3% down and 5% interest).  Mortgage payments estimated at $2,518/month. 

 

Wow, crazy that the Town’s reported AVERAGE income could get you into the average affordable $350,000 home in Plainfield!  Just CRAZY!!!! 

 

So nice how these numbers add up…maybe this is why we have so many cookie-cutter housing additions going in.

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A MEDIAN income household could afford a $266,600 house (with 3% down and 5% interest).  Mortgage payments estimated at $2,036.  This is more affordable than the majority of homes the Town has approved to be built. 

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And, did you know that Indiana has the highest mortgage rate default in the county? (source)  Yes, Indiana is #1 in default mortgages.

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Final, data dump…

 

The Town of Plainfield is made up of 3 townships in Hendricks County.  The majority of Plainfield is in Guilford Township, with some in Liberty and Washington Townships. 

 

The Town of Plainfield is making advances further and further west into Liberty Township every year. 

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Out of the 12 townships that make up Hendricks County: (source)

• Guilford Township has the 3rd lowest median income ($87,691)

• Liberty Township the lowest ($82,171)

• Washington Township ($100,090) comes in 5th lowest. 

 

Does the $107,910 still make sense? 

 

Does the spending that the Town does make sense? 

 

Can the citizens of Plainfield afford to spend the money that our Town Council does? 

 

Think about it…

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I asked that the Town to at least reference where the $107,910 came from in the 2025 Citizen Centric Report……bet you can guess what the response was.

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