Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in New Fairfield are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income New Fairfield is better than 79% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−). Below the poverty line: 3.6% of residents, next to 10.0% for Connecticut as a whole. About one in ten stay in New Fairfield for work; outside it, Danbury is the main destination (21%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in New Fairfield, in brief
New Fairfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 27 across Connecticut. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 115 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
New Fairfield and Danbury trade workers both ways
Danbury is the top workplace for New Fairfield residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in New Fairfield come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
New Fairfield is a place people come home to
There are 1,488 jobs based in New Fairfield, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday New Fairfield has about 9,600 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
How New Fairfield earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income holds New Fairfield’s grade up ($137,647, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Fairfield could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Each way, about 42 minutes from New Fairfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Fairfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,107 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Commuting out of New Fairfield: the destinations
Where New Fairfield clocks in
21% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Who works in New Fairfield, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 5,136 residents head out to work, 471 work right here, and 1,017 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,600 people are in New Fairfield on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.27 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The 1,488 jobs based in New Fairfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Fairfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,274 → 1,488. 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 New Fairfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from New Fairfield
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.
Few in New Fairfield walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across Connecticut, on an EPA index of 5.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,227 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.6% of New Fairfield households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of New Fairfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
New Fairfield next to U.S. towns of 10,000 to 18,000: 664th of 2,059 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 124 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Colchester CT | 15,825 | $122K | 3.9% | 1.7% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 662 | Mount Vista WA | 10,764 | $100K | 5.9% | 4.3% | 6% | A− |
| 663 | Patchogue NY | 12,486 | $107K | 10.6% | 3.5% | 7% | A− |
| 664 | New Fairfield CT | 13,674 | $138K | 3.6% | 5.8% | 8% | A− |
| 665 | Belchertown MA | 15,265 | $108K | 8.5% | 2.4% | 11% | A− |
| 666 | Alexandria KY | 10,994 | $102K | 7.7% | 3.2% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,059 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 New Fairfield, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
New Fairfield and its neighbors: 26% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Fairfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Fairfield | – | A− | B− | 42 min | $137,647 |
| Brookfield | 3% | A | C | 28 min | $148,360 |
| Candlewood Orchards | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Candlewood Shores | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Danbury | 21% | B− | A− | 30 min | $83,393 |
| New Milford | 2% | B | B− | 30 min | $106,411 |
| Sherman | under 2% | A− | C | 40 min | $116,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Candlewood Orchards and Candlewood Shores: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Danbury. Darker towns draw more of New Fairfield’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 New Fairfield: questions
What is the median household income in New Fairfield?
$137,647 (±$13,943) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Fairfield?
3.6%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Fairfield?
42 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Fairfield work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Danbury (21%, 6 mi), Stamford (4%, 28 mi), New York City (4%, 61 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Fairfield walkable?
New Fairfield is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Fairfield without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Fairfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Fairfield
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.