The name Fairfield was originally given as a descriptive name by early European settler William Martin to his farm property, located close to where the town now stands.

Until 2000, Fairfield was located on State Highway 1, but is now on a bypass of the Dunedin Southern Motorway.

Fairfield is situated about 11 km (7 mi) west-southwest of the Octagon, Dunedin's city centre.

[6] Fairfield accounts for 2.0% of the total Dunedin City territorial authority population.

[7] Fairfield School is a full primary serving years 1 to 8[8] with a roll of 521 students.

[9] Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ōtepoti is a composite school serving years 1 to 13[10] with a roll of 53 students.