Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 10,000 at the 2020 census. Fairfield is home to Miles College, a historically black college enrolling over 1,100 students.
History
This city was founded in 1910 in which the featured speaker at the dedication ceremony was former President Theodore Roosevelt. It was originally named Corey, after the President of U.S. Steel Corporation. Corey departed U.S. Steel under a cloud of scandal, and the town's name was later changed to the city in which his successor as president lived, Fairfield, Connecticut. It was planned as a model city by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company to house workers in their new Fairfield Works plant, now owned by U.S. Steel, similar to its northeastern city of Ensley.
It was incorporated on January 1, 1919.
In May 2020, the city entered bankruptcy. Jefferson County had declared bankruptcy in 2011.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Fairfield city, Alabama – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|1,086
|442
|style='background: #ffffe6; |217
|8.77%
|3.98%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.17%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|11,132
|10,489
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,474
|89.91%
|94.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |94.74%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|6
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.05%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|19
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|0.15%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|1
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.01%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|6
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10
|0.05%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|58
|48
|style='background: #ffffe6; |122
|0.47%
|0.43%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.22%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|73
|127
|style='background: #ffffe6; |159
|0.59%
|1.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.59%
|-
|Total
|12,381
|11,117
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,000
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Fairfield had a population of 10,000, 3,843 households, and 2,532 families. The median age was 38.8 years. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 81.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 75.1 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,843 households in Fairfield, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 25.7% were married-couple households, 20.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 49.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.