Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetCT-FAIRFIELD-UNIVERSITY-CT · Fairfield University, CT 2,516 pop
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Fairfield University on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,516.
Connecticut's Fairfield University counts 2,516 residents. Source: Census ACS.
86th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Fairfield University, CT
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 2,516 residents in Fairfield University, a small town within Connecticut. The median resident age is 19.3 years. 5.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 26.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Connecticut carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 103.6 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,955 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $345 across Connecticut, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 87.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Fairfield University's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fairfield University, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Fairfield University?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Connecticut, the closest population matches are Westbrook Center (2,529 residents, $71,132 income); Tokeneke (2,466 residents, $250,000+ income); Ball Pond (2,623 residents, $142,727 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Whittingham, NJ (2,516 residents); Burley, WA (2,516 residents); Star Valley, AZ (2,517 residents). These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What does the journey to work look like in Fairfield University?
Walking is the largest reported mode at 35.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living F
103.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
5.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income N/A
N/A
No ACS median household income on file for this place.
Poverty rate N/A
N/A
No ACS poverty rate on file for this place.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
How does Fairfield University compare to other US cities?
Here's how Fairfield University stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Median rent86% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Fairfield University against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Connecticut only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Connecticut-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Fairfield University near the bottom of Connecticut's cities
Among the 207 Connecticut cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fairfield University ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fairfield University only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 207
0th percentile in Connecticut
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#207 of 207
0th percentile in Connecticut
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Connecticut only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Income distribution context
Median household income is not available for Fairfield University in the current Census ACS release (common for very small places).
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)5.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Labor force participation (adults 16+)26.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,516
Median Income
N/A
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
19.3
Poverty Rate
N/A
Labor force participation
26.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
5.3%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
30.4%
Carpool
8.8%
Public Transit
1.3%
Walk
35.9%
Work from Home
22.2%
Other
1.4%
Based on 616 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Connecticut statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $345
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Connecticut at $345 (electricity about $175 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are Connecticut statewide averages, not a meter reading for Fairfield University. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Connecticut's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.6 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Fairfield University is $1,955/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Connecticut statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 87.6 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Connecticut statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Fairfield University sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fairfield University compares to similar-size Connecticut cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.