Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. New Fairfield grades B+ overall, ranked 63rd of 151 in Connecticut. Residents are healthier than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $138K and its schools rank ahead of 77% of Connecticut towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $605K, 5.3 years of the Bridgeport metro’s $115K median household income. New Fairfield’s average trip to work is 42 minutes, against 27 minutes in Connecticut’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. New Fairfield has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cosier-Murphy House and Williams House.
Where New Fairfield beats most towns.
Cosier-Murphy House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| New Fairfield Elementary School | PK–5 | 946 |
| New Fairfield Middle School | 6–8 | 464 |
| New Fairfield High School | 9–12 | 693 |
Census counts: 1,573 in 1790, a low of 434 in 1930, 13,579 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1830 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far New Fairfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Fairfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
in town LakeCandlewood Lake
36 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
29 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
30 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
31 mi Theme parkLake CompounceUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Fairfield, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in New Fairfield.
New Fairfield sends many workers across the state line to New York City, has better schools than Sherman or any other neighbor and has less food insecurity than most of Connecticut.
Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 8.9% of its 10,729 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
24% of adults have obesity in New Fairfield. New Fairfield beats the Connecticut average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in New Fairfield.
| New Fairfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 30% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 9.4% | 12% |
| What stands out | New Fairfield | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.9% | 14.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.1% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− is the best School Grade on its borders; Sherman (B+) is next.
Its public schools are run by the New Fairfield School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is New Fairfield High School, with 693 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Fairfield Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 946 | B+ |
| New Fairfield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 693 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
New Fairfield’s median rent is $1,896 a month. Typical home values rose 9.5% in the year to September 2026. 92% of New Fairfield households own their home.
| New Fairfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,896 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 92% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
32% of working residents cross a state line to work, New York City among the top destinations. New Fairfield has 1,488 jobs for its 5,607 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave New Fairfield for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, New Fairfield has added 214 jobs, to 1,488 in 2023. The top destinations are Danbury (21%), Stamford (4%) and New York (4%).
| New Fairfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $138,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 18% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
New Fairfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
12 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Pootatuck State Forest, at 744 acres with 4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail density in New Fairfield is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pootatuck State Forest | 4 mi | 744 |
| 2. Great Hollow | 3.3 mi | 243 |
| 3. Squantz Pond State Park | 2.1 mi | 162 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Children under 18 are 25% of residents (20% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). 48% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 43% across Connecticut.
| New Fairfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.9 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 20% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| New Fairfield | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.5% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.4% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.7% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.4% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.9% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.4% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1999, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in New Fairfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of New Fairfield
About 8 of every 100 New Fairfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Where New Fairfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in New Fairfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Connecticut, United States
New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,579 at the 2020 census. New Fairfield is one of five towns that surround Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut. The town is located 55 miles (89 km) northeast of New York City, making it part of the New York metropolitan area. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with New Fairfield.
New Milford next door grades lower for schools (C+ to New Fairfield’s A−) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Fairfield | #63 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Brookfield | #45 | A− | C | A− | B | A+ |
| Candlewood Orchards | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Candlewood Shores | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Danbury | #135 | C− | D− | B− | D | B+ |
| New Milford | #89 | B | C | A− | C+ | A |
| Sherman | #68 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Ball Pond | — | — | — | — | — | — |
New Fairfield and Sherman report no FBI crime data of their own. Candlewood Orchards, Candlewood Shores and Ball Pond aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare New Fairfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. New Fairfield grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #63 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
