Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fairfax is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, 12th of 71 graded towns in Vermont, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $129K. A typical home there costs about $458K, 4.9 years of the Burlington metro’s $93K median household income. On history, just 17 of Vermont’s 172 towns do worse.
Where Fairfax beats most towns.
4,285 counted in 2010 and 5,014 in 2020; an estimated 5,455 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.7% since 2020, after 17% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Fairfax is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 254 in 1790, a low of 254 in 1790, 5,014 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 3 maps from 1948 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fairfax, 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 Fairfax.
Fairfax gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has household incomes well above the Vermont norm, but it has commutes longer than most of Vermont.
19% of Fairfax adults binge drink, against 16% in Vermont’s towns and 16% across U.S. towns. 7.4% of Fairfax adults have diabetes. Fairfax beats the Vermont average on 11 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Fairfax | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 9.1% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fairfax | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 10.1% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.9% | 6.5% |
| More adults with obesity | 34.2% | 28.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Fairfax School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Bellows Free Academy Middle/High School (Fairfax), with 393 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellows Free Academy Elementary (Fairfax)Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 579 | C+ |
| Bellows Free Academy Middle/High School (Fairfax)Largest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 393 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 2,621 working residents takes 30.8 minutes, against 23.5 across Vermont. Jobs based here grew from 447 in 2013 to 758.
5.1% of Fairfax residents live below the poverty line, where Vermont’s towns sit at 9.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 2 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a higher median household income than Fairfax. The average trip to work in Fairfax is 31 minutes.
| Fairfax | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $129,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9% | 16% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median household earns $128,963, against $81,203 across Vermont, one input to its A− for jobs and income.
People 65 and older are 13% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 24% of residents (18% statewide). 49% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fairfax. Fairfax has grown 8.7% since 2020, to 5,455 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Fairfax | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 39% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.8 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Fairfax | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.5% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.3% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.1% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.5% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.7% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.6% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.2% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 33.5% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.9% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The St Albans Radio weather station, 12 miles away, records that 80 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The St Albans Radio weather station, 12 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 161 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 92% of Vermont places with climate records.
Fairfax has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Fairfax’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Fairfax home is worth about $458,000, up 0.6% in a year, 17% above the Vermont typical home.
| Fairfax | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,080 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairfax Recreational Trail | 0.4 mi | 14 |
| 2. Fairfield Swamp Wildlife Management Area | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fairfax.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairfax. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi LakeLake Champlain
14 mi MountainMount Mansfield
16 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
14 mi Ski areaSmugglers' Notch Resort110 runs · 2,533 ft vertical
28 mi Ski areaJay Peak Resort79 runs · 1,988 ft vertical
26 mi MuseumShelburne MuseumLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Smugglers' Notch Resort: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jay Peak Resort: Hanumanix at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Shelburne Museum: Storylanding, CC0
None within 15 miles of Fairfax; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Fairfax residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Fairfax’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Fairfax.
Town in Vermont, United States
Fairfax is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States, with a population of 5,014 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Fairfax.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Georgia (B) comes closest.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax | #12 | A− | B− | — | B− | A |
| Cambridge | #54 | C− | D | — | D | A |
| Westford | — | — | D | — | A | A+ |
| Georgia | #31 | B | C | — | B− | A− |
| Fletcher | — | — | C+ | — | B− | A |
| Fairfield | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Milton | #32 | B | C | B | B− | A |
Westford, Fletcher and Fairfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Fairfax, Cambridge, Westford, Georgia, Fletcher and Fairfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fairfax with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Fairfax grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #12 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A for health and B− 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including Israel Bush Richardson and George N. Dale.
