20,369 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.4% since 2020)
686 square miles of land · 30 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
7 active community water systems list Fairfield County in the area they serve, reporting 20,914 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WINNSBORO TOWN OF (2010001) surface water · local government · SC2010001 | 10,391 served |
| MIDCOUNTY WATER DIST 2 (SC2020004) buys surface water · private · SC2020004 | 3,500 served |
| JENKINSVILLE WATER COMPANY (SC2020001) groundwater · local government · SC2020001 | 2,550 served |
| MITFORD WATER DISTRICT (SC2020005) buys surface water · private · SC2020005 | 1,878 served |
| MIDCOUNTY WATER DIST 1 (2020002) groundwater · private · SC2020002 | 1,487 served |
| RIDGEWAY TOWN OF (SC2010002) buys surface water · local government · SC2010002 | 950 served |
| RIDGEWAY MANOR (SC2070002) groundwater · private · SC2070002 | 158 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 70 people were held in Fairfield County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 529 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 50.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Fairfield County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $57.4 million — $52.3 million to run schools, about $22,949 per student, plus $3.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $32 million local (mostly property tax), $19.1 million state, $8.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Fairfield County about $8.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
139 bridges in Fairfield County: 49 in good condition, 82 fair, and 8 poor (5.8%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SC 200 over BEAVER DAM CREEK · built 1928 | 1,650 vehicles a day |
| SC 215 over MCCLURES CREEK · built 1928 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
| S-20-15 over SAWNEYS CREEK · built 1957 | 200 vehicles a day |
| S-20-214 over BIG CREEK · built 1957 | 125 vehicles a day |
| C-20-60 over BR OF MORRIS CR · built 1960 | 125 vehicles a day |
| S-20-258 over THORNTREE CREEK · built 1962 | 125 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2.1 million of work in Fairfield County in fiscal 2025, about $98 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for South Carolina are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Fairfield County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Fairfield County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of South Carolina: the state government and every county in South Carolina.
Nearby counties: Chester County (20 mi) · Newberry County (28 mi) · Richland County (28 mi) · Kershaw County (31 mi) · Lancaster County (31 mi) · Union County (34 mi).