Fairfield Facts

Location
Fairfield is conveniently situated at the crossroads of three major routes connecting to San Francisco and Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, and the California Delta and Napa Valley.  Located along the Interstate-80 corridor, Fairfield is almost midway between San Francisco (47.7 miles/76.7 kilometers) and Sacramento (40.6 miles/65.3 kilometers), and is easily accessible from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from Interstate-680, and from the California Delta (26 miles/41.8 kilometers) to the southeast and Napa Valley (16 miles/25.7 kilometers) to the northwest by State Highway 12.

History
A town site was laid out in 1856 by clipper ship Captain Robert H. Waterman, which he named Fairfield after his home town in Connecticut.  Fairfield was incorporated as a city on December 12, 1903.  The county seat of Solano County, Fairfield celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003.  Solano County was one of the original 27 counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.

Population
Based on a January 1, 2012 estimates, the population of Solano County is 413,786, and the following city populations are:
 

Source:  
California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit, www.dof.ca.gov/research/research.php


Climate
Solano County has a pleasant, Mediterranean climate year-round, with more than 300 days of sunshine per year.

The average warmest month is July.
The highest recorded temperature was 113°F in 1984.
The average coolest month is December.
The lowest recorded temperature was 17°F in 1990.
January is the average wettest month.

Source:
The Weather Channel, http://www.weather.com/

Geography
Fairfield is 37.7 square miles
Elevation: 20 feet

Business Improvement District (BID)
A Business Improvement District (BID) was formed in 2004 by the Fairfield Hotel Association, Inc. and adopted by the City of Fairfield.  The independent non-profit 501C6 organization is funded by 18 lodging properties in Fairfield.  A destination marketing organization – Fairfield Tourism Association – was created by the BID to market and promote tourism to the area, including overnight stays. In September 2012, the Fairfield Tourism Association adopted a new branding strategy and changed its name to the Fairfield Conference & Visitors Bureau.

Tourism
• Tourism in Solano County generates $548 million in travel expenditures, resulting in an estimated $33.4 million in state and local tax revenues. (www.deanrunyan.com/impactCA.html)
• Tourism employs 6,590 Solano County residents, representing a payroll of $145.4 million.
• Solano County collected more than $4 million in transient occupancy tax (T.O.T.) in fiscal year 2011. In 2011, Fairfield, with a T.O.T. of 10.0 percent, collected $1.6 million; Vallejo, with a T.O.T. of 11.0 percent, collected $1.1 million; while Vacaville, with an 8.0 percent T.O.T., brought in $933,800.
• The average hotel occupancy rate in Solano County for 2011 was 66.1% and the average daily rate (ADR) was $76.21.

Agriculture
(Top ten crops, by value, 2011)
 

Source:
2011 Solano County Crop and Livestock Report.

Transportation
Fairfield is easily accessible by land and air.

Air: Fairfield is in close proximity to three international airports – Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Oakland International Airport (OAK) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – that offer daily service by all major commercial airlines.  Door-to-door shuttles are available at all airports with service to Fairfield.

Bus: Greyhound Bus Lines maintains a daily schedule to bus stations located in Suisun City, Vacaville and Vallejo.  City and/or countywide transit systems are available, plus charter bus services.

Rail: Amtrak offers daily service from the Sacramento Region and San Francisco Bay Area via the Capitol Corridor to the Suisun/Fairfield (SUI) Station at 177 Main Street in Suisun City.

Lodging
Fairfield has more than 1,400 lodging rooms and suites available for visitors at moderately priced hotels, motels and suite properties.    
                                        
Dining
Fairfield offers an array of restaurants from coffee shops, delis and fine dining establishments to brew pubs, bakeries and popular franchise restaurants to satisfy any taste and appetite.  International specialties include Mexican, Italian, Indian, Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese, Salvadorian, American, Cajun, Creole, and southern Style Cuisine.  Many restaurants offer menus featuring fresh seasonal produce, and award-winning wines and craft beers from Solano County and surrounding area.

Outdoor Recreation
Fairfield is an ideal spot for visitors to overnight and explore their favorite outdoor pursuits available locally and regionally.  Fairfield is home to the top two 18-hole golf courses in Solano County – Paradise Valley, with its oak studded fairways and nearby creeks, and Rancho Solano, featuring hilly terrain and undulated greens.  Several other challenging courses are an easy drive from Fairfield.  Nearby outdoor activities include wind surfing and kite boarding in the Delta at Rio Vista; birding, wildlife viewing, hiking, kayaking, and canoeing at Suisun Marsh (home to 221 bird species, 45 animal species, 16 different reptilian and amphibian species, and more than 40 fish species) and the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area; mountain biking at the Rockville Hills Regional Park; hiking and birding at Lynch Canyon, Jepson Prairie Reserve and other Solano Land Trust properties; and boating, water skiing, fishing, and wildlife viewing at Lake Berryessa.
                                            
Top Attractions
• Jelly Belly Candy Company – www.JellyBelly.com  
• Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour – www.BudweiserTours.com/toursFAIR.htm
• Suisun Valley Wine Country – www.SuisunValley.com
• Il Fiorello Olive Oil Company – www.ilfiorello.com
• Sepay Groves Olive Oil – www.SepayOliveOil.com
• Travis Air Museum – www.TravisAirMuseum.org
• Rush Ranch – www.SolanoLandTrust.org
• Jepson Prairie Preserve – www.SolanoLandTrust.org
• Suisun Marsh – www.iep.ca.gov/suisun/facts/index.html
• Grizzly Island Wildlife Area – www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/region3/grizzlyisland/
• Western Railway Museum – www.wrm.org
• Driven Raceway – www.drivenraceway.com

Nearby Attractions      
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo
• Mare Island, Vallejo
• Napa/Sonoma Wine Country
• Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma Valley
• Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta