The city has a diversified economy, with government, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, professional and commercial construction sectors.

[11] It is the location of Travis Air Force Base and the headquarters of Jelly Belly.

[12] A clipper ship captain from Fairfield, Connecticut, named Robert H. Waterman, parceled out the town in 1856.

[13] He 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 August 2020, parts of Fairfield were evacuated due to the LNU Lighting Complex Fires, which resulted in the burning of over 315,000 acres (127,476 ha) in five counties, including in nearby Vacaville.

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.

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.

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.

Fairfield has a diversified economy, with government, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, professional and commercial construction sectors.

[10]Anheuser-Busch operates a large regional Budweiser brewery, Clorox produces bleach products, and the Jelly Belly Candy Company manufactures its jelly beans in Fairfield.

[27] The Poet Laureate's role is to advocate for poetry and the advancement of literary arts in the community.

[30][31] Public golf courses include Paradise Valley, and Rancho Solano.

[citation needed] Prior to 2020, there were five city councilmembers, which include the Vice-Mayor and Mayor.

[32] As of September 2022, there were 63,897 registered voters in Fairfield; of these, 32,104 (50.2%) are Democrats, 12,810 (20.0%) are Republicans, and 14,808 (23.2%) stated no party preference.

[34] The station is served by Capitol Corridor trains operated by Amtrak California.