FairfaxCA
A town of 1,423.
Is Fairfax a good place to live?
Fairfax’s weakest subject grade is a D for health. 36% of residents live below the poverty line in Fairfax, where California’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 95 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on health. Homes are expensive, about $244K for a typical one and 3.5 times the Bakersfield metro’s $70K median household income. Only 2 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on the outdoors. Fairfax has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,423 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Fairfax grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Fairfax is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Fairfax: who provides what
Fairfax is unincorporated, so Kern County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fairfax.
Health in Fairfax trails 89% of U.S. towns
Fairfax beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 34% of Fairfax adults say their health is fair or poor, above both California’s towns (22%) and U.S. towns (19%). 37% of adults get no exercise outside work in Fairfax.
| Fairfax | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Fairfax | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.8% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 22.9% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fairfax’s schools rank behind 60% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Fairfax Elementary school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zephyr Lane ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 797 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Fairfax has mild winters and hot summers
Fairfax has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Fairfax’s July high is 100°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About two in five of Fairfax’s working residents commute to Bakersfield
Most working residents leave Fairfax for work: only 2% work in town. The average trip to work in Fairfax is 21 minutes. Jobs based in Fairfax grew to 528 in 2023, 221 more than in 2013.
| Fairfax | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
High risk in Fairfax, with earthquakes at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dignity Health Arena and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairfax. Close and well known come first.
5 mi Stadium & arenaDignity Health Arena
33 mi MuseumFort Tejon
22 mi National MonumentCésar E. Chávez National Monument31K visitors a year
6 mi MuseumKern County Museum85K visitors a year7 mi Zoo & aquariumCalifornia Living Museum
5 mi MuseumBakersfield Museum of ArtPhoto credits
Dignity Health Arena: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0 · Fort Tejon: Yellowute at English Wikipedia, Public domain · César E. Chávez National Monument: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0 · Kern County Museum: (WT-de) Mistoffeles, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bakersfield Museum of Art: Skyman9999. Skyman9999, CC0
Everything we know about Fairfax
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Fairfax
About 2 of every 100 Fairfax residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Fairfax
Census-designated place near Bakersfield, US
Fairfax is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California. The CDP is within the Bakersfield's census county division, and borders the city of Bakersfield to the west and East Niles, California to the north.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Questions about Fairfax
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fairfax, CA expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.