Photo: Bill Whittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Fairfield is a college town: 15 of every 100 residents are students
Maharishi International University (1,077 students on campus) is inside the city. Across Iowa, 6 of every 100 residents are enrolled in college.
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Fairfield. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Fairfield
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Fairfield
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
15 of every 100 Fairfield residents are in college (IA: 6).
How students change Fairfield’s other numbers
Read the town’s other grades with this in mind. How TownRatings handles college towns →
Students who live off campus count in the Census poverty figures: 20.6% of Fairfield residents are below the poverty line, 17.2% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 6 points either way). 63% of the students themselves are below the line. In college towns, the Jobs & income grade uses the rate without students and leaves unemployment out.
The Cost grade counts the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent, leaving it out only where students are a quarter of residents or more. Here they are 15%, so student incomes still weigh on that figure.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Fairfield’s median age is 40.0 (Iowa 38.6), so the adult figures describe a young population.
Crime is counted per resident, and students who live here count as residents. A college with its own police department reports its incidents under that department, not the city.
Colleges within 15 miles of Fairfield
One private college within 0.8 miles. The nearest public four-year college, University of Iowa, is 50.5 miles away.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles and the nearest public four-year college. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $48–75k, where Fairfield’s median household income ($51,311) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid.
Questions about college in Fairfield
Is Fairfield a college town?
Yes. 15 of every 100 Fairfield residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 6 across Iowa. Maharishi International University has 1,077 students on campus, next to 9,220 residents.
What colleges are in Fairfield?
Maharishi International University is inside the city. Indian Hills Community College is 22.5 miles away in Ottumwa.
Why is Fairfield’s poverty rate so high?
Students who live off campus count in the Census figures. 20.6% of residents are below the poverty line; leaving college students out, 17.2% are (ACS 2020–24, give or take 6 points).
What is the closest community college to Fairfield, and what does it cost?
Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, 22.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,040 a year for Iowa residents; the federal net price, $10,693, counts housing and food at full cost.
How hard is it to get into Maharishi International University?
Maharishi International University admitted 96% of applicants in the Scorecard’s latest year.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Fairfield. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →