Census-designated place · Somerset County, Maine

Fairfield, Maine

Fairfield is a census-designated place in Somerset County, Maine. It has 2,356 residents. Fairfield, Maine has a quality-of-life score of 37 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,901 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maine it ranks #100 of 104 cities and towns. It ranks best on high school diploma or higher (high), hot days (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), depression (high) and frequent mental distress (high).

37Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,901 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maine: #100 of 104 in ME
Population: 2,356 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,282.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2324285

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety60#6,265/15,637
Economy30#10,895/15,631
Housing51#7,365/14,977
Health8#14,372/15,609
Healthcare21#12,434/15,650
Environment94#933/15,453
Education42#9,092/15,649
Infrastructure51#7,733/15,650
Community26#11,608/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,289/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fairfield, Maine ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Somerset County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

High school diploma or higher · high94.5%
98/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Hot days · low1 days
97/100Maine 2 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSomerset County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.9 µg/m³
96/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySomerset County value
Public libraries · high2.5 /10k
94/100Maine 1.9 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSomerset County value
Students per teacher · low10.9×
94/100Maine 11.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSomerset County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,768 /100k
92/100Maine 2,172 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low20.2%
0/100Maine 21.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSomerset County value
Depression · high31.5%
2/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.0%
3/100Maine 20.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Injury deaths · high144 /100k
4/100Maine 113 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low39.2%
5/100Maine 66.5%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value
Job growth · low-2.9%
7/100Maine -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSomerset County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
3,027 (2015-2019) → 2,356 (2020-2024)
−22%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
75.5% (2015-2019) → 24.8% (2020-2024)
−51 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.1% (2015-2019) → 94.6% (2020-2024)
+32 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
45.6% (2015-2019) → 16.8% (2020-2024)
−29 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$23,718 (2015-2019) → $52,409 (2020-2024)
+121%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
65.7% (2015-2019) → 45.0% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Fairfield, Maine improved on 4 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Child poverty−51 points75.5% → 24.8%
Household income+121%$23,718 → $52,409
Broadband+32 points63.1% → 94.6%
Inequality−0.0980.471 → 0.374

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Fairfield, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.0 min2015-2019	18.4 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	6.8%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	63.1%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	+32 points	Improved	98%
Child poverty rate	75.5%2015-2019	24.8%2020-2024	−51 points	Improved	100%
Effective property tax rate	1.74%2015-2019	1.25%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	90%
High school diploma or higher	82.5%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Home price to income ratio	4.3×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	−1.6×	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4712015-2019	0.3742020-2024	−0.098	Improved	95%
Median household income	$23,7182015-2019	$52,4092020-2024	+121%	Improved	99%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	38.8%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Rent-burdened households	65.7%2015-2019	45.0%2020-2024	−21 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.6%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Fairfield, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fairfield, Maine in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Fairfield, Maine itself moved +36.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,356 residents (±475)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,079 households (±197)

Fairfield, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k15%†162
$25k–50k31%†338
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,079 households (±197)

Fairfield, Maine
Maine share

Own61%661
Rent39%†418

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+25.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,288 workers (±342)

Fairfield, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone75%†962
Carpool15%†194
Public transit

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Somerset County, the county holding most of Fairfield's residents.

Somerset County has 1,211 employer establishments, 236 for every 10,000 residents (0.95× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Maine's), with 12,763 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,986. The Census Bureau also counts 3,590 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,211; 3,590 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 236; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 12,763
Average annual pay: $55,986; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Somerset County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	125	24.4	1.57×More than typical	487	$62,080	474
Restaurants and other eating places	79	15.4	0.84×About typical	902	$22,186	7
Ambulatory health care services	52	10.1	0.49×Fewer than typical	585	$59,863	120
Truck transportation	52	10.1	2.00×More than typical	240	$51,738	69
Construction of buildings	51	9.9	1.31×More than typical	228	$59,684	179
Building equipment contractors	48	9.4	1.56×More than typical	208	$57,250	87
Automotive repair and maintenance	41	8	1.59×More than typical	209	$33,560	93
Lessors of real estate	38	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	79	$61,127	303
Other specialty trade contractors	37	7.2	2.87×More than typical	162	$75,401	138
Gasoline stations	35	6.8	2.10×More than typical	377	$26,281	—
Full-service restaurants	32	6.2	0.81×About typical	258	$23,260	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	29	5.7	0.84×About typical	112	$44,911	215

Rank places for an industry Open Somerset County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 51,293 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fairfield, Maine: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

0FY2017

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Fairfield, Maine, so they do not add up across cities.

Fairfield, Maine's figures are part of those of Somerset County, ME ($9.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fairfield is mostly in Somerset County.

See federal money in Somerset County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Fairfield, Maine is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jared F. GoldenD-ME-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 70%Missed 2.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Somerset County47100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Somerset County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2324285

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends