Cyrus McCormick Farm and Workshop · Photo: Morgan Riley · CC BY 3.0Jobs and the daily commute in Fairfield
The average commute, 27 minutes each way, matches the Virginia norm. Hardly any work in Fairfield itself; outside it, Lexington draws the most (14%, 11 miles). There are 171 jobs in Fairfield, and 109 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Fairfield
On a workday 108 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 170 people come in from elsewhere.
About 630 people are in Fairfield on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The towns that send workers to Fairfield
Where Fairfield clocks in
14% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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: 41% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairfield, 2013 → 2023: 74 → 171. 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.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Fairfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairfield workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 304 commuters (the 20% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Fairfield commutes
About 36% 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.
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?
$113,646 (±$108,586) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairfield?
2.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairfield?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairfield work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lexington (14%, 11 mi), Fishersville (6%, 22 mi), Staunton (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fairfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% 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.