Fairfield, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fairfield, California
City
City of Fairfield
Sign in Downtown Fairfield
Seal
Location of Fairfield in Solano County, California.
Fairfield, California Location in California Show map of California Fairfield, California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Solano
Incorporated	December 12, 1903
Government
• Type	Council-manager
Area
• Total	41.39 sq mi (107.21 km2)
• Land	41.14 sq mi (106.55 km2)
• Water	0.26 sq mi (0.66 km2)  6.95%
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	119,881
• Rank	2nd in Solano County 53rd in California
• Density	2,896.4/sq mi (1,118.19/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	94533–94535
Area code	707
FIPS code	06-23182
GNIS feature IDs	1656005, 2410474

Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately 40 miles (64 km) from the city center of each city, approximately 40 miles (64 km) from the city center of Oakland, less than 19 miles (31 km) from Napa Valley, 16 miles (26 km) from the Carquinez Bridge, and 14 miles (23 km) from the Benicia Bridge. Fairfield was founded in 1856 by clippership captain Robert H. Waterman, and named after his former hometown of Fairfield, Connecticut.

It is the home of Travis Air Force Base and the headquarters of Jelly Belly. With a population of 119,881 at the 2020 census, it is slightly smaller in population than Vallejo. Other nearby cities include Suisun City, Vacaville, Rio Vista, Benicia, and Napa.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.6 square miles (97 km²), of which, 34.4 square miles (89 km²) of it is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) of it is water. The total area is 5.65% water.

The city is located within the California Coastal Ranges. The city is centered directly north of the Suisun Bay and northeast of the San Pablo Bay. Much of the Suisun Bay contains the Suisun Marsh, the largest saltwater marsh on the west coast of the United States.

History

According to the City of Fairfield website, Native Americans, such as those from the Ion culture, settled in the Rockville and Green Valley areas. Artifacts that have been found from some of the earliest human inhabitants of the Fairfield area are dated to be around five to six thousand years old, making them some of the oldest Native American settlements in Northern California.

The first European contact came in 1810 when the Spanish army was ordered to attack the Suisun Indians. In 1835 the Mexican General Vallejo was so magnanimous in victory over the Indian Chief Sem Yeto that the chief later became his ally in conflicts against other tribes. In 1837 the Indian Chief Solano received the Rancho Suisun Mexican land grant. This grant eventually came into the hands of a clipper ship captain from Fairfield, Connecticut named Robert H. Waterman. He not only parceled out the town in 1856, but also, in a commercially shrewd move, entered Fairfield in the race for Solano County seat in 1858, and won it from Benicia. As an inducement he granted 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land for the construction of county buildings. In 1903 Fairfield was incorporated as a city.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Fairfield had a population of 105,322. The population density was 2,798.5 people per square mile (1,080.5/km²). The racial makeup of Fairfield was 48,407 (46.0%) White, 16,586 (15.7%) African American, 869 (0.8%) Native American, 15,700 (14.9%) Asian (9.1% Filipino, 1.8% Indian, 1.0% Chinese, 0.6% Vietnamese, 0.6% Japanese, 0.4% Korean, 0.3% Laotian, 0.2% Thai, 0.1% Pakistani), 1,149 (1.1%) Pacific Islander, 13,301 (12.6%) from other races, and 9,309 (8.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28,789 persons (27.3%); 21.2% of Fairfield was Mexican, 1.1% Puerto Rican, 1.0% Salvadoran, 0.5% Nicaraguan, 0.3% Guatemalan, 0.2% Cuban, and 0.2% Peruvian.

The Census reported that 102,832 people (97.6% of the population) lived in households, 1,221 (1.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,268 (1.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 34,484 households, out of which 14,725 (42.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 18,461 (53.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 5,203 (15.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,179 (6.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,052 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 237 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,802 households (19.7%) were made up of individuals, and 2,500 (7.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98. There were 25,843 families (74.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.42.

The population was spread out, with 28,499 people (27.1%) under the age of 18, 11,246 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 28,917 people (27.5%) aged 25 to 44, 25,884 people (24.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,775 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.

There were 37,184 housing units at an average density of 988.0 per square mile (381.5/km²), of which 20,835 (60.4%) were owner-occupied, and 13,649 (39.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 61,652 people (58.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 41,180 people (39.1%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 96,178 people, 30,870 households, and 24,016 families residing in the city. The population density was 986.3/km² (2,554.2/mi²). There were 31,792 housing units at an average density of 326.0/km² (844.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.21% White, 15.02% Black or African American, 0.77% Native American, 10.89% Asian, 0.93% Pacific Islander, 8.77% from other races, and 7.41% from two or more races. 18.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 30,870 households, out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,151, and the median income for a family was $55,503. Males had a median income of $38,544 versus $30,616 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,617. 9.3% of the population and 7.1% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.1% of those under the age of 18 and 5.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Climate

Fairfield has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa).

Recreation

Aerial view of Fairfield, with Travis Air Force Base in the upper center.

Downtown Fairfield offers shopping, community festivals and entertainment.

Parks

• Rockville Hills Regional Park
  • The Park is located on Rockville Road approximately 3/4 of a mile from the corner of Suisun Valley and Rockville Roads. Allows bicycling, hiking, and provides walking trails.
• Fairfield Linear Park
  • The Linear Park stretches through the city along a former railroad right-of-way. Picnic tables and play equipment can be found along the route. Runners, walkers, bicyclists, and families enjoy this park.
• Alan Witt Park
  • Contains a brand new Aquatics Complex, the Fairfield Sports Center, and Fairfield-Suisun Rotary Skate Park. The new Aquatics Complex includes water slides, toddler play area, youth play pool, lap swimming, indoor activity pool, and a "lazy river" current for water walking or floating. The park also offers tennis courts, a recreation building, picnic area, ball fields, basketball courts, volleyball courts, a skate park, and horse shoe pits. Restroom facilities are available.
• Dover Park
• Sunrise Park
• Ridgeview Park
• Laurel Creek Park
  • Contains softball fields, Little League baseball fields, a soccer field, a large picnic area with built in grills, a park for small children and a park for grown children, and is next to Laurel Creek Elementary School, which has outdoor basketball courts.
• Wood Creek Park

Fairfield is home to three golf courses, two public and one private (located in unincorporated area East of Fairfield, North of TAFB for use by military personnel). Paradise Valley and Rancho Solano Golf Courses, both public, are rated in the Zagat Survey of "America's Best Golf Courses," rated 3 ½ stars by Golf Digest Magazine in 2010 and voted #1 & #2 golf courses in Solano County for consecutive years.

Transportation

Interstate 80 passes through Fairfield, connecting San Francisco to the southwest and Sacramento to the northeast. Interstate 680 begins its journey south through the eastern cities of the Bay Area to San Jose. State Route 12 connects Fairfield with Napa to the west, and Rio Vista to the east.

The Fairfield-Vacaville railroad station on Peabody Rd serves the communities of Fairfield/Suisun and Vacaville. The station opened in November 2017. The station is served by Capitol Corridor trains operated by Amtrak California. Additionally, the Suisun-Fairfield station in Suisun City serves the central Solano area. Greyhound utilizes this station for service to the Fairfield-Suisun area as well.

The Fairfield Transportation Center is the main hub for commuters via bus as well as vanpools and park-and-ride to the Sacramento area and the San Francisco Bay Area. There is connecting bus service to Sacramento and to BART stations in El Cerrito and Concord/Walnut Creek, as well as intercity to Vacaville, Vallejo, Davis, Napa, and Rio Vista.

Gallery

• 

  Texas Street in Downtown

• 

  The Solano County Government Center in Downtown Fairfield

• 

  Military C-5 Aircraft from Travis Air Force Base takes off in Sierra Leone

			Vacaville
	Napa		Travis AFB
		Fairfield
	Vallejo	Benicia • Suisun City	Rio Vista

Notable people

• Sasha Banks, professional wrestler for WWE
• Brad Bergesen, starting pitcher for the MLB Baltimore Orioles
• Desmond Bishop, Super Bowl Champion former starting middle linebacker for the NFL Green Bay Packers, Graduated from Fairfield High School class of 2002
• Deone Bucannon, starting safety for the NFL Arizona Cardinals, Graduated from Vanden High School class of 2010
• Cat Cora starred in the television hit series Iron Chef America
• Chris Daly, former San Francisco supervisor
• Jacob Duran, professional Kickboxing, UFC and boxing cutman/Actor appeared in Rocky Balboa & Creed 1,2
• The Federation (group), hip hop group
• Huck Flener, MLB Pitcher, graduated from Armijo High School
• Augie Galan, MLB All-Star outfielder, lived and died in Fairfield
• Quinton Ganther, NFL free agent, graduated from Fairfield High School class of 2002
• Luis Grijalva, professional runner representing Guatemala, Olympian, graduated from Armijo High School
• Kathleen Hicks, 35th US Deputy Secretary of Defense, born in Fairfield
• Susan Hutchison, Chair of the Washington State Republican Party, former television news journalist
• James-Michael Johnson, NFL linebacker
• Stevie Johnson, starting NFL wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers
• Lee Kohler, musician and leader of the band This World
• Pat Morita, Oscar-nominated actor best known as Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid, longtime Fairfield resident, graduated from Armijo High School
• Sage the Gemini, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer
• CC Sabathia, MLB starting pitcher for the New York Yankees and a resident of the Fairfield area
• Alan Sanchez, WBC Continental America's Welterweight Boxing Champion fighting out of Fairfield
• Tony Sanchez (American football), former American College Football coach and player
• Chester See, singer, songwriter, producer, prior host of Disney 365 with over one million subscribers on his YouTube channel as of 2013
• Tracy K. Smith, poet, Pulitzer prize winner
• Anthony Swofford, writer of war movie Jarhead (2005)
• Jason Verrett, NFL cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers

Images for kids

• 

  Chief Francisco Solano was granted Rancho Suisun in 1837 by Californio General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. Robert H. Waterman later purchased Rancho Suisin and developed it into the city of Fairfield.

See also

In Spanish: Fairfield (California) para niños