Welcome to Fairfield ...
The city of Fairfield is located in Wayne County<1> and is the County Seat for Wayne County.
The pronunciation of Fairfield: FAIR-feeld<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Fairfield, you might consider that their post office opened in 1820.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Fairfield has a population of 4,947 people<3> (see below for details).
Fairfield is 450 feet [137 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Fairfield lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel east from Fairfield (for example, toward Decker (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
Fairfield is located in the (618) area code.
The ZIP code for Fairfield: 62837<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Fairfield had an population of 4,947 people. This is a decrease of 4.02% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 8.74% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Fairfield had a population of 5,154 people (or 30.75% of the total population of Wayne County). This makes Fairfield the county's most populous community.
The population of Fairfield represents 0.04% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 330th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 5,154 people, the population of Fairfield decreased 4.93% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 5,421 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Fairfield.
Communities Also Named Fairfield ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Illinois communities named Fairfield: This one is located in Wayne County and the other is located in Lake County.
Beyond Illinois, there are 91 communities that are also named Fairfield - they are located in Alabama (4), Arkansas (2), British Columbia (2), California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (3), Georgia (5), Idaho, Indiana (3), Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (2), Maine, Maryland (3), Massachusetts, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Jersey (2), New Mexico, New York (2), North Carolina (4), North Dakota, Ohio (3), Oklahoma, Ontario (3), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (6), Prince Edward Island, South Carolina, Tennessee (6), Texas (2), Utah (2), Vermont, Virginia (4), Washington (2), West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fairfield.
Communities near Fairfield ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Fairfield.
- Albion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albion have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Albion is located in Edwards County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,889 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albion <7>
- Wayne City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayne City have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne City
- Wayne City is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 983 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayne City <7>
- Cisne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisne have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisne
- Cisne is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisne <7>
- Enfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enfield have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Enfield is located in White County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Enfield <7>
- Sims
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sims have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sims
- Sims is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sims <7>
- Mill Shoals
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Shoals have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Shoals
- Mill Shoals is located in White County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mill Shoals <7>
- Springerton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springerton
- Springerton is located in White County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springerton <7>
- Mount Erie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Erie
- Mount Erie is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Erie <7>
- Keenes
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keenes
- Keenes is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keenes <7>
- Johnsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
- Johnsonville is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnsonville <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Fairfield. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Fairfield.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Fairfield. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairfield.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfield. Our list includes 27 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Fairfield.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Fairfield ...
Looking for more information about Fairfield? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Fairfield, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Fairfield.
Adding Fairfield to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Fairfield in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Fairfield was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Fairfield post office opened in 1820.
We also found Fairfield in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Fairfield.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fairfield. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Wayne, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Fairfield. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Fairfield. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Fairfield - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Fairfield). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Fairfield or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |