Fairfield, Illinois

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Coordinates: 38°22′49″N 88°21′57″W﻿ / ﻿38.38028°N 88.36583°W﻿ / 38.38028; -88.36583
Wayne County Courthouse in Fairfield.jpg
The Wayne County Courthouse in Fairfield
Motto: "Home of the Friendly People"
Country United States
State Illinois
County Wayne
Area 4.05 sq mi (10 km2)
 - land 4.02 sq mi (10 km2)
 - water 0.03 sq mi (0 km2)
Population 5,421 (2000)
Density 1,499.0 / sq mi (579 / km2)
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code 62837
Area code 618
Location of Fairfield within Illinois
Location of Fairfield within Illinois

Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, Illinois, United States,[1] and the location of Frontier Community College. The population was 5,421 at the 2000 census.



They met their demise at the hands of the Chicago mob and an insider Charles "Blackie" Harris. A land dispute led to Blackie joining forces with the Mob to kill off members of the Shelton gang. His most notable victim was Carl Shelton, the leader. He was ambushed several miles south east of Fairfield, shot from his Jeep. Bernie was killed at his Peoria roadhouse. Earl moved to Jacksonville, FL and became a successful land speculator.

Fairfield was the hometown of Kenneth Michael Kays, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism[2] during the Vietnam War, and Country music singer-songwriter Lance Miller.


Fairfield is located at 38°22′49″N 88°21′57″W﻿ / ﻿38.38028°N 88.36583°W﻿ / 38.38028; -88.36583 (38.380390, -88.365818).[3]

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of 4.05 square miles (10.5 km2), of which 4.02 square miles (10.4 km2) (or 99.26%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.078 km2) (or 0.74%) is water.[4]


As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 5,421 people, 2,495 households, and 1,494 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,499.0 people per square mile (578.2/km²). There were 2,727 housing units at an average density of 754.0 per square mile (290.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.40% White, 0.09% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.06% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.

There were 2,495 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 24.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,797, and the median income for a family was $36,278. Males had a median income of $28,866 versus $19,985 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,791. About 8.5% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.


  2. ^ "Medal of Honor: Kenneth Kays". Retrieved 2007-08-13. 

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