Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fairfield grades D overall, 461st of 640 graded towns in Texas, mostly because of safety. It reports more crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns, including 17 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. Fairfield’s violent crime rate is 5.6 per 1,000 residents, against 1.9 in Texas’ towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns.
Where Fairfield beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Fairfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 609 in 1860, a low of 358 in 1880, 2,850 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1919 on.
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 Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Fairfield.
Fairfield carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Texas (mostly cold waves), is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $244 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Fairfield’s FEMA risk score is 9 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by Fairfield ISD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Fairfield H S, with 500 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 406 | C+ |
| Fairfield H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 500 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Fairfield reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 4,743 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairfield’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Fairfield beats the Texas average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 42% of Fairfield adults have high blood pressure.
| Fairfield | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 36% |
| What stands out | Fairfield | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 14.5% | 19.1% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.9% | 74.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.1% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $221K, is 8% below its September 2023 peak. The median property tax bill is $2,075, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Fairfield home is worth about $221,000, down 3.5% in a year, 25% below the Texas typical home. 58% of households own their home in Fairfield.
| Fairfield | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $994 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 94.1°, hotter than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36.9°. The Fairfield 3w weather station records that about 91 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 82% of Texas places with climate records.
Fairfield has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Fairfield is 94°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Fairfield | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 94°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 37°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 2,597 in 2013 to 2,043.
About one in 5 of Fairfield’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Fairfield has lost 554 jobs, to 2,043 in 2023. The top destinations are Dallas (8%), Fort Worth (4%) and Corsicana (4%).
| Fairfield | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Fairfield; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Fairfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
City in Texas, United States
Fairfield is a city and county seat of Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,850 at the 2020 census, down from 3,094 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1851.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fairfield grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #461 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, C for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($59,960 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.