Bates, Asa, Memorial Chapel · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Fairfield has lower unemployment (2.8%) than 73% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Fairfield for work; outside it, Waterville is the main destination (21%, 7 miles). Jobs and income earn Fairfield B−; getting around on foot earns it B−. Commuters spend 25 minutes getting to work on average; Maine averages 25, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Fairfield: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fairfield is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #88 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Fairfield’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($64,101, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairfield could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The daily commute in and out of Fairfield
On a workday 2,930 residents head out to work, 292 work right here, and 1,932 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Fairfield on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
Commuting out of Fairfield: the destinations
Where Fairfield clocks in
21% of workers
12% of workers
5% 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.
What the 2,224 jobs in Fairfield are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,922 → 2,224. 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 Fairfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Fairfield: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,917 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Maine: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute from Fairfield, by distance
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Driving is how Fairfield gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fairfield is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #60 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Fairfield near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,319 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.6% of Fairfield households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fairfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,900th of 3,218: where Fairfield ranks among U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 340 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 720 | Gray ME | 8,676 | $95K | 3.5% | 3.4% | 9% | A− |
| 721 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,898 | Crafton PA | 5,790 | $64K | 9.6% | 7.4% | 4% | B− |
| 1,899 | Catoosa OK | 7,471 | $72K | 12.8% | 5.9% | 10% | B− |
| 1,900 | Fairfield ME | 6,537 | $64K | 10.9% | 2.8% | 9% | B− |
| 1,901 | Benson NC | 4,660 | $67K | 14.4% | 2.9% | 7% | B− |
| 1,902 | Grove City PA | 7,694 | $57K | 10.8% | 2.9% | 20% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,218 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Fairfield, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Fairfield
The biggest share goes to Skowhegan (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | – | B− | B− | 25 min | $64,101 |
| Benton | 1% | B− | C− | 20 min | $61,437 |
| Clinton | under 2% | B | D | 30 min | $71,458 |
| Smithfield | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Norridgewock | under 2% | C− | D− | 22 min | $61,579 |
| Skowhegan | 5% | C− | A− | 25 min | $49,485 |
Same-state neighbors only. Smithfield: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of 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 Fairfield: questions
What is the median household income in Fairfield?
$64,101 (±$11,086) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairfield?
10.9%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairfield?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairfield work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waterville (21%, 7 mi), Augusta (12%, 22 mi), Skowhegan (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairfield walkable?
Fairfield is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of 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.