Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 35,754, settled in 1950.
Fairborn is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, ranked 668th of 987 in Ohio, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $208K, 2.9 years of the Dayton metro’s $72K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: it reports more crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns, including 107 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On hazard risk, just 154 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. 11% of the land in Fairborn is conserved, where Ohio’s towns sit at 3.7% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Fairborn is home to Wright State University-Main Campus.
Where Fairborn beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Fairborn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,847 in 1950, 34,510 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 5 maps from 1904 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairborn. Close and well known come first.
6 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a year
Big draw35 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year5 mi MuseumNational Aviation Hall of Fame300K visitors a year
3 mi MuseumHuffman Prairie
3 mi National Historical ParkDayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park80K visitors a year
14 mi LandmarkMadonna of the TrailNational Museum of the United States Air Force: No machine-readable author provided. Rogerd assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Huffman Prairie: Wright Brothers, Public domain · Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Madonna of the Trail: W. Guy Finley, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fairborn, 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 Fairborn.
9.9 miles of trail in 29 parks and preserves. Fairborn’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile, against 0.2 in Ohio’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Oakes Quarry Park, at 215 acres with 5.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oakes Quarry Park | 5.3 mi | 215 |
| 2. Fairborn Community Park | 0.7 mi | 205 |
| 3. Cold Springs Reserve | 0.7 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 91% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fairborn.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 31% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Fairborn’s median age is 35.7 years. Fairborn has grown 3.7% since 2020, to 35,754 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Fairborn | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.7 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 24% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.8 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.0, men 34.3.
| Fairborn | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.6% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.4% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.7% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.8% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.4% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Fairborn has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Fairborn for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Fairborn grew to 11,020 in 2023, 1,962 more than in 2013. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Fairborn.
| Fairborn | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.3% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
51% of Fairborn households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Fairborn | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $977 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The violent crime rate in Fairborn is 3 per 1,000 residents. Fairborn reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 61% report less.
| Fairborn | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.5 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,346 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairborn’s, it is healthier than 63%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Fairborn beats the Ohio average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Fairborn | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| What stands out | Fairborn | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 11.3% | 13.2% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 3.2% | 3.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
16 within 15 miles of the center of Fairborn
About 9 of every 100 Fairborn residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
10.8% of the town is conserved land, across 29 parks and preserves.
4 places in Fairborn on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Fairborn.
5 towns share a border with Fairborn.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Xenia Township (B−) is closest. Beavercreek Township next door grades higher for schools (A to Fairborn’s C+) and lower for cost of living (C− to B).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairborn | #668 | C+ | B | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Wright-Patterson AFB | — | — | C | — | C+ | A− |
| Beavercreek | #336 | B+ | C− | C+ | A | A |
| Bath Township | #492 | B | B | — | C+ | B |
| Beavercreek Township | #316 | B+ | C− | — | A | B |
| Xenia Township | #577 | B− | B− | — | C+ | B− |
Wright-Patterson AFB has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Wright-Patterson AFB, Bath Township, Beavercreek Township and Xenia Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fairborn with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fairborn grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #668 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
7 notable people were born here, including Buddy Miller and Mark Turner.
