Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fairfield gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $105K for a typical one, or 1.9 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades C− overall, 634th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $42K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. 32% of working residents work locally in Fairfield, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Fairfield has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them G.J. George House and Turney-Hall House (Additional Documentation). Among 748 Illinois towns, just 7 have a lower median rent than Fairfield.
Where Fairfield beats most towns.
G.J. George HouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Fairfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1820, comes before those of 95% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 195 in 1850, 4,883 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 2 maps from 1948 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in 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 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Fairfield.
Fairfield trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has seen reported crime rise beyond ordinary swings.
Homes are within reach (about $105K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles. At 1.9 years of the county’s $56K median household income, the typical home (about $105K) costs less against local pay than in 82% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 6.8% in the year to September 2026. 68% of Fairfield households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 3,021 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairfield’s, it is healthier than 59%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Fairfield. Fairfield beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 24% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Fairfield.
| Fairfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Fairfield | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80% | 75.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.3% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes rose from 77 to 93 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Fairfield’s violent crime rate is 5.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Fairfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 27.3 per 1,000 residents | 9.3 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Fairfield has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Fairfield is 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 3,093 in 2013 to 2,430. The average commute for its 2,013 working residents takes 18 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Since 2013, Fairfield has lost 663 jobs, to 2,430 in 2023. About one in 3 of Fairfield’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Albion (7%), Mount Vernon (6%) and Flora (4%).
| Fairfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $42,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1992, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fairfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Wayne County Fairgrounds, at 38 acres.
| Fairfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wayne County Fairgrounds | — | 38 |
| 2. Leo F French Memorial Park | — | 34 |
| 3. Southwest Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Fairfield; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Fairfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2 places in Fairfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Fairfield.
City in Illinois, United States
Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, Illinois, United States, and the location of Frontier Community College. The population was 4,883 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Fairfield.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | #634 | C− | A | C− | C+ | C− |
| Lamard Township | — | — | A | — | C− | C− |
| Big Mound Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C− |
Lamard Township and Big Mound Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Lamard Township and Big Mound Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fairfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fairfield grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #634 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
4 notable people were born here, including William Borah and Harold A. Garman.
