Best PlacesFairfield, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fairfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fairfield ranks 276th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Fairfield
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Fairfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fairfield ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of cities
- Household income$176,916 median, better than 97% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of cities
Where Fairfield ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,858 a month, better than only 5% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 9% of cities
- Short commute32.7 minutes each way, better than only 12% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Fairfield
A household needs to earn about $225,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fairfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $176,916, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Fairfield's effective rate of 1.40%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fairfield
Fairfield's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fairfield.
Who works in Fairfield, and how
Work in Fairfield centers on finance & insurance and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Fairfield
Fairfield has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of cities and more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fairfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fairfield, month by month
Fairfield sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Fairfield
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fairfield
Schools across Fairfield average an A, better than 91% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Sherman SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Dwight Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Riverfield SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roger Ludlowe Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Helen Keller Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Fairfield Woods Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairfield Ludlowe High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Joel Barlow High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Fairfield Warde High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fairfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fairfield measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Fairfield against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Fairfield suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 28% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Fairfield
Is Fairfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fairfield ranks 276th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on civic engagement, population health, and fast internet, and lowest on childcare costs and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fairfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $795,320. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $176,916 median income, cost of living beats 92% of cities.
Is Fairfield safe?
Fairfield is safer than 40% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $262 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fairfield?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of cities.
Is Fairfield good for families?
Schools beat 91% of cities, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $1,858 a month.
Compare Fairfield with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fairfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fairfield represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Fairfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fairfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fairfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fairfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fairfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fairfield detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.