Fairfield County, Connecticut
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Fairfield County is located in the southwestern corner of the state of Connecticut. As of 2000 the population was 882,567. The largest city in the county is Bridgeport. As is the case with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is no county government, and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources. However, Fairfield County is merely a group of towns on a map, and has no particular authority. While Fairfield County is one of the wealthiest counties in the country, the county is certainly not uniformly affluent: the county includes Bridgeport, one of the poorest cities in the United States. The county is informally known in Connecticut as The Gold Coast. It is part of New York Metropolitan Area.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,168 km² (837 mi²). 1,621 km² (626 mi²) of it is land and 547 km² (211 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 25.23% water.
The terrain of the county trends from flat near the coast to hilly and higher near its northern extremity. The highest elevation is 1,290 feet (393 m) above sea level along the New York state line south of Branch Hill in the Town of Sherman; the lowest point is sea level itself.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 882,567 people, 324,232 households, and 228,259 families residing in the county. The population density is 545/km² (1,410/mi²). There are 339,466 housing units at an average density of 209/km² (542/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 79.31% White, 10.01% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.70% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. 11.88% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 324,232 households out of which 34.20% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% are married couples living together, 11.50% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% are non-families. 24.00% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.40% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.18.
In the county the population is spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $65,249, and the median income for a family is $77,690. Males have a median income of $51,996 versus $37,108 for females. The per capita income for the county is $38,350. 6.90% of the population and 5.00% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.30% of those under the age of 18 and 6.60% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Cities, towns, and villages*
- Bethel
- Bridgeport
- Brookfield
- Danbury
- Darien
- Easton
- Fairfield
- --Georgetown (a village of Wilton)
- Greenwich
- Monroe
- New Canaan
- New Fairfield
- Newtown
- Norwalk
- Redding
- Ridgefield
- Shelton
- Sherman
- Stamford
- Stratford
- Trumbull
- Weston
- Westport
- Wilton
* Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
External Link
- National Register of Historic Places listing for Fairfield Co., Connecticut (http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CT/Fairfield/districts.html)
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State of Connecticut |
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| Capital: | |
| Regions: |
Greater New Haven | Greater Hartford | Litchfield Hills | Lower Connecticut River Valley | Naugatuck River Valley | New York metropolitan area/Gold Coast | Quiet Corner | Southeastern Connecticut |
| Largest cities: |
Ansonia | Bridgeport | Bristol | Danbury | Fairfield | Greenwich | Groton | Hartford | Meriden | Middletown | Milford | Naugatuck | New Britain | New Haven | New London | North Haven | Norwalk | Norwich | Shelton | Stamford | Torrington | Waterbury | West Hartford |
| Counties: |
Fairfield | Hartford | Litchfield | Middlesex | New Haven | New London | Tolland | Windham |