Fairfax ranks among the lowest-earning U.S. towns by household income
Measured by household income, Fairfax is among the lowest-earning towns in the country. Poverty touches 36.4% of residents (California 12.0%). Fairfax grades C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Fairfax apart
Fairfax and Bakersfield trade workers both ways
Bakersfield is the top workplace for Fairfax residents (41%) and also where the most people who work in Fairfax come from (48% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fairfax has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Fairfax went from 307 in 2013 to 528 in 2023, +72%. The jobs ↓
Few Fairfax workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 620 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Fairfax’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Fairfax is better than 17% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Fairfax’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($30,417, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Fairfax’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fairfax could be anywhere from C− to C.
41% of working residents work in Bakersfield
Where Fairfax clocks in
41% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Fairfax
528 jobs are based in Fairfax.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairfax, 2013 → 2023: 307 → 528. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fairfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Fairfax
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairfax workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 518 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The workday shuffle in and out of Fairfax
On a workday 609 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 517 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Fairfax’s commute, mile by mile
About 28% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Fairfax, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fairfax is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Fairfax near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 518 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 8% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 14.4% of Fairfax households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fairfax’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900, Fairfax ranks 4,279th of 5,877 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Castle Hill CA | 1,026 | $250K | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 19 | Acalanes Ridge CA | 1,006 | $181K | 1.5% | 7.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,277 | Iroquois Township IN | 1,261 | $62K | 10.9% | 13.4% | 5% | C− |
| 4,278 | Perry Township OH | 1,064 | $76K | 25.6% | 2.7% | 2% | C− |
| 4,279 | Fairfax CA | 1,423 | $30K | 36.4% | 0.0% | 2% | C− |
| 4,280 | Adrian MO | 1,798 | $53K | 13.8% | 10.7% | 12% | C− |
| 4,281 | Milan MO | 1,742 | $56K | 10.7% | 5.8% | 59% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Fairfax, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 41% of Fairfax
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairfax workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax | – | C− | B− | 21 min | $30,417 |
| Bakersfield | 41% | C+ | B+ | 24 min | $80,540 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bakersfield. Darker towns draw more of Fairfax’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Fairfax: questions
What is the median household income in Fairfax?
$30,417 (±$24,058) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairfax?
36.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairfax?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairfax work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (41%, 6 mi), Los Angeles (4%, 96 mi), East Niles (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairfax walkable?
Fairfax is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairfax without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairfax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairfax
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.