Plainland is a rural village on the Warrego Highway, 13 km east of Gatton. The origin of the name is unrecorded.

In about 1878 a dozen German families settled at Plainland, most having emigrated from West Prussia. In 1884 they built a Lutheran Church, and the congregation was enlarged in 1889 when secessionists from the Deep Gully community, south-west of Gatton, joined them. A new church was built in 1897. The Lutheran churches at Plainland and Hatton Vale were the two main congregations in the Lockyer Valley, although both have been replaced by churches at Laidley and Gatton.

In 1911 the post office directory recorded about 60 farmers at Plainland, most with German surnames, three blacksmiths, the Plainland Hotel, a store and a State primary school (1886-1966). By 1949 the number of farmers recorded at Plainland had fallen to 36, but the proportion of German names was undiminished. There were then two motor engineers instead of the blacksmiths.

The rural population steadily declined, but since the 1990s there has been considerable rural/residential settlement. The Faith Lutheran College (secondary) opened in 1999, and there are a small drive-in shopping centre, a hardware/rural store, the Plainland Hotel and a farmers' market each Sunday next to the hotel.

Plainland's census populations have been:

Census DatePopulation
1911222
1947224
1961137
20061448
20111672
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