Located just outside New York City in Connecticut, Fairfield is a slowly growing county with a population of about 950,000. Bridgeport is the county’s largest city, while Stamford is the primary business hub; the county’s other major cities include Norwalk, Danbury, and Greenwich. In contrast to New York City’s employment boom, Fairfield has seen little job growth since the Great Recession. Historically, Fairfield County has been a major hub for durable goods manufacturing, though such activity has shrunk in recent years. As in New York City, the finance sector plays an outsized role in the regional economy, though it has not grown in recent years. The education-and-health and leisure-and-hospitality sectors have been the strongest contributors to growth in the area. The county’s educational attainment and median income rank among the highest in the nation. While Fairfield is one of the nation’s most affluent counties, it is also one of the most unequal.
| Fairfield County | Dutchess-Putnam* | Orange-Rockland-Westchester* | Connecticut | USA | |
| Population1 | 944,000 | 393,000 | 1,675,000 | 3,573,000 | 327,167,000 |
| Pop growth, 10-year change1 | 4.4% | -0.8% | 3.9% | 0.8% | 7.6% |
| GDP, billions2 | $98 | $16 | $118 | $266 | $19,485 |
| Job growth, 5-year change1 | 1.8% | 4.1% | 6.7% | 2.1% | 9.3% |
| Median household income2 | $90,000 | $81,000 | $83,000 | $74,000 | $60,000 |
| Median home price2 | $400,000 | $285,000 | $320,000 | $260,000 | $200,000 |
| Pop share age 25+ with BA+2 | 47.1% | 35.6% | 43.0% | 38.7% | 32.0% |
