Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fairfield is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 121st among Maine's 142 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $64K. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country. A typical home there costs about $236K, 4 years of the county’s $58K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. Fairfield is home to Kennebec Valley Community College. 15% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fairfield, where Maine’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. Its National Register listings include Hinckley Good Will Home Historic District and Amos Gerald House.
Where Fairfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 458 in 1790, 6,484 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Fairfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Fairfield.
Fairfield is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s and has fewer 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
The typical Fairfield home is worth about $236,000, up 0.7% in a year, 43% below the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by RSU 49/MSAD 49. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lawrence High School, with 531 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Jr High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 276 | C+ |
| Lawrence High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 531 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
39% of Fairfield adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 143 Maine towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Fairfield. 27% of Fairfield adults get no exercise outside work.
| Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fairfield | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 9.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.6% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Fairfield for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Fairfield has added 302 jobs, to 2,224 in 2023. The top destinations are Waterville (21%), Augusta (12%) and Skowhegan (5%).
| Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $64,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 15% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.1% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
26 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Martin Stream Wildlife Management Area, at 211 acres.
| Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mill Island Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 2. Martin Stream Wildlife Management Area | — | 211 |
| 3. PAL Athletic Fields | 0.2 mi | 43 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Madison weather station, 15 miles away, records that about 3 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 84% of Maine places with climate records. July afternoons average 79.5°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 81% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 9°.
Fairfield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Fairfield is 9°F. About 74 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 9°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fairfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 20.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 81% of Maine’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 105 to 75 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairfield. Close and well known come first.
6 mi MuseumColby College Museum of Art
in town MuseumL. C. Bates Museum
25 mi MuseumMaine State Museum40 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft vertical
7 mi MuseumRedington Museum
25 mi GardenViles ArboretumColby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · L. C. Bates Museum: W.A. Judge, Public domain · Maine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Redington Museum: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Viles Arboretum: eddie welker from Laurel, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Fairfield
About 4 of every 100 Fairfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
9 places in Fairfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Fairfield.
Town in Maine, United States
Fairfield is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,484 at the 2020 census. The town includes Fairfield Center, Fairfield village and Hinckley, and borders the city of Waterville to the south. It is home to the Good Will-Hinckley School, Lawrence High School and Kennebec Valley Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fairfield.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | #121 | C− | C+ | B− | C | C− |
| Benton | #103 | C− | B+ | — | C | C |
| Clinton | #72 | B− | B | A | C | C+ |
| Smithfield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Norridgewock | #142 | D− | B− | — | C | D |
| Skowhegan | #128 | D | C+ | — | C | C− |
Benton, Norridgewock and Skowhegan report no FBI crime data of their own. Smithfield isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fairfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fairfield grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #121 of 142 in Maine. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Fairfield sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
9 notable people were born here, including Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Seldon Connor.
