Route 29 Stone Arch Bridge · Photo: Allan Green · CC BY-SA 4.0Fairfield has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For jobs and income Fairfield is better than 43% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (B−). 74 jobs are based in Fairfield, and 568 of its residents work somewhere. Only 1% stay in Fairfield for work; outside it, Herkimer is the main destination (9%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fairfield and work: the main findings
Fairfield is a place people come home to
There are 74 jobs based in Fairfield, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Fairfield has about 940 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Fairfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 25 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 568 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Fairfield
Household income holds Fairfield’s grade up ($89,875, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (6.5%) is left out: Fairfield’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fairfield could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Fairfield on a workday afternoon
On a workday 560 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 66 people come in from elsewhere.
About 940 people are in Fairfield on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
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 commute from Fairfield, by distance
About 31% 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.
About 25 minutes to work from Fairfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairfield workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 542 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Out of Fairfield to work: where people go
Where Fairfield clocks in
9% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
Fairfield makes things: 46% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairfield, 2013 → 2023: 97 → 74. 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.
Most of Fairfield commutes by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 3.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 628 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). 12.7% of Fairfield households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Fairfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900, Fairfield ranks 2,469th of 5,877 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Saddle Rock NY | 1,008 | $176K | 0.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,467 | Convis Township MI | 1,534 | $71K | 12.0% | 0.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,468 | Rapid River Township MI | 1,301 | $72K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,469 | Fairfield NY | 1,436 | $90K | 11.6% | 6.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,470 | Hebron Estates KY | 1,056 | $55K | 13.2% | 18.8% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,471 | Damascus Township OH | 1,822 | $76K | 13.1% | 3.0% | <1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 New York.
Bordering towns draw 17% of Fairfield’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | – | C+ | B− | 25 min | $89,875 |
| Herkimer | 9% | C− | A− | 22 min | $56,287 |
| Newport | 8% | C | C | 31 min | $79,727 |
| Norway | under 3% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Salisbury | under 3% | C− | D− | 37 min | $81,528 |
| Little Falls | under 3% | C+ | B | 26 min | $71,875 |
| Manheim | under 3% | B− | B | 25 min | $69,527 |
Same-state neighbors only. Norway: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Herkimer. 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?
$89,875 (±$20,764) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairfield?
11.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairfield?
25 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairfield work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Herkimer (9%, 6 mi), Utica (9%, 15 mi), Newport (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairfield walkable?
Fairfield is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 3.7 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairfield without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 13% 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.