Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Fairfax’s household incomes are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Fairfax A−; getting around on foot earns it B−. Below the poverty line: 5.1% of residents, against 10.1% across Vermont. Working from home is the commute for 27% of workers (Vermont 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Fairfax apart on work
Fairfax has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Fairfax went from 447 in 2013 to 758 in 2023, +70%. The jobs ↓
Fairfax workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Fairfax works from home
27% of Fairfax workers work from home, against 17% across Vermont. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Fairfax’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fairfax is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #7 of 71 in Vermont. Household income holds Fairfax’s grade up ($128,963, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairfax could be anywhere from B to A.
What the 758 jobs in Fairfax are
758 jobs are based in Fairfax.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairfax, 2013 → 2023: 447 → 758. 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 Fairfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Fairfax’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairfax workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,383 commuters (the 27% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who works in Fairfax, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,385 residents head out to work, 236 work right here, and 522 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,600 people are in Fairfax on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.29 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
15% of working residents work in Burlington
Where Fairfax clocks in
15% 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.
Miles to work from Fairfax
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.
For most of Fairfax, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fairfax is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #59 of 71 in Vermont. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.2% across Vermont, on an EPA index of 5.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,249 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.4% of Fairfax households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fairfax’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fairfax places 765th of 3,612 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 346 | Jericho VT | 5,056 | $117K | 0.9% | 1.2% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 418 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 477 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 763 | Rice Lake MN | 4,169 | $90K | 7.2% | 1.2% | 7% | A− |
| 764 | Ferris TX | 4,291 | $90K | 7.7% | 3.5% | 5% | A− |
| 765 | Fairfax VT | 5,455 | $129K | 5.1% | 2.1% | 9% | A− |
| 766 | Peculiar MO | 6,365 | $95K | 4.9% | 4.1% | 5% | A− |
| 767 | Kirtland OH | 6,925 | $110K | 4.7% | 5.2% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Fairfax, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Work in the towns next to Fairfax
The biggest share goes to Cambridge (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairfax workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax | – | A− | B− | 31 min | $128,963 |
| Cambridge | 3% | B | A− | 32 min | $72,344 |
| Westford | under 4% | A− | C− | 33 min | $112,750 |
| Georgia | under 4% | B+ | B | 26 min | $105,011 |
| Fletcher | under 4% | B | C− | 32 min | $105,833 |
| Fairfield | under 4% | B | C+ | 24 min | $87,019 |
| Milton | 3% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $118,977 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairfax’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 Fairfax: questions
What is the median household income in Fairfax?
$128,963 (±$29,451) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairfax?
5.1%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairfax?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairfax work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Burlington (15%, 19 mi), South Burlington (12%, 20 mi), St. Albans (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairfax walkable?
Fairfax is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairfax without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairfax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairfax
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.