Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Fairfield’s subject grades is an A− for health. Only 2 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Fairfield. 22% of the land in Fairfield is conserved, above both Vermont’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest park or preserve is Fairfield Swamp Wildlife Management Area, at 846 acres. Fairfield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Fairfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 129 in 1790, 2,044 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 4 maps from 1920 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Fairfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Fairfield.
Fairfield beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 36% of Fairfield adults have obesity, against 30% in Vermont’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 33% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Fairfield.
| Fairfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Fairfield | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with obesity | 36% | 28.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Maple Run Unified Union School District #57. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Center SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 249 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Fairfield for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Fairfield grew to 191 in 2023, 41 more than in 2013. 5.1% of Fairfield residents live below the poverty line.
| Fairfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.8% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
7.8 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Only 1 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a lower trail density than Fairfield.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairfield Swamp Wildlife Management Area | — | 846 |
| 2. Elm Brook Wildlife Management Area | — | 410 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fairfield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Fairfield is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Fairfield home is worth about $370,000, up 4.5% in a year, 6% below the Vermont typical home. Among 72 Vermont towns, just 7 have a higher share of households owning their home than Fairfield.
| Fairfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,056 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi LakeLake Champlain
19 mi MountainMount Mansfield
20 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
22 mi Ski areaJay Peak Resort79 runs · 1,988 ft vertical
18 mi Ski areaSmugglers' Notch Resort110 runs · 2,533 ft vertical
25 mi LandmarkFort MontgomeryLake 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 · Jay Peak Resort: Hanumanix at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Smugglers' Notch Resort: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Montgomery: Mfwills, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Fairfield; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Fairfield residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Fairfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 notable people were born in Fairfield.
Town in Vermont, United States
Fairfield is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States, chartered in 1763. The population was 2,044 at the 2020 census. President Chester A. Arthur was born in Fairfield in 1829, and lived there for the first three years of his life. A replica of his home, the Chester Alan Arthur State Historic Site, is open seasonally.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Fairfield.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Bakersfield | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B+ |
| Fletcher | — | — | C+ | — | B− | A |
| Sheldon | — | — | B | — | C+ | B |
| Swanton | #37 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| St. Albans | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fairfax | #12 | A− | B− | — | B− | A |
| Enosburgh | #39 | B− | B | — | C+ | B |
Fairfield, Bakersfield, Fletcher and Sheldon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Fairfield, Bakersfield, Fletcher, Sheldon, Swanton, Fairfax and Enosburgh report no FBI crime data of their own. St. Albans isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fairfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($93,043 across the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
6 notable people were born here, including Chester A. Arthur and Consuelo N. Bailey.
