California · Vallejo, CA metro area

Buying a home in Fairfield, California

In Fairfield, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $624,300, Solano County's effective property tax rate is 0.75%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $10,055 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $2,266 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Fairfield home costs, fact by fact

About Fairfield

Fairfield is a city in California, with a population of 122,646. It lies in the Vallejo, CA metro area, ranked 120th among U.S. metro areas. The median value of owner-occupied homes, as estimated by owners rather than a sale price, is $624,300, and 61.3% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Fairfield figures

Fairfield sits in a much smaller metro area than most cities in this batch. The Vallejo area ranks 120th nationally with 455,101 residents, and the city itself counts 122,646. Vallejo, the namesake of the metro, appears in the neighbor list at $589,500, with a rent of $2,073 and 57.4% owners.

Fairfield's owner estimate of $624,300 falls below the California-wide figure of $770,700. Cities close in value include Elk Grove ($630,100), along with Antioch ($629,700), and also Murrieta ($639,800), along with East Los Angeles ($643,100), and El Monte is at $644,000. Below Fairfield, Vacaville runs to $620,900, Ontario runs to $607,600, then Pomona is at $593,800, Fontana around $586,800, along with Riverside is near $584,800. Oxnard, at $652,700, is a little higher, and Los Angeles, at $921,200, is far higher. This band is tight, so a small gap in dollars should not guide a choice among these cities.

Rent and ownership are better guides. Fairfield's median rent is $2,266, similar to Elk Grove ($2,262), along with Antioch ($2,278) and slightly lower than Vacaville ($2,299) and Murrieta ($2,388). It is higher than Oxnard ($2,032), along with Ontario ($2,030), and also higher than Fontana at $1,839, and likewise Pomona at $1,810. The owner share is 61.3%, close to Antioch (63.6%) and higher than Vallejo (57.4%) together with Riverside (56.8%), though below Fontana, at 66.8%, along with Elk Grove, at 73.8%. East Los Angeles, with 33.5%, shows the other extreme. The Vallejo HUD area lists a smaller-unit figure of $2,342 and a larger-unit figure of $3,053, only a little above the observed rent. Keep in mind that it is a benchmark, not a market median.

Solano County sets the tax and lending frame. In Solano County the median annual tax is $4,621 year over year, and the effective rate comes to 0.75%, derived from a county-level median of $617,700. This county value sits close to the Fairfield estimate, so the county dollar bill is a reasonable reference for a home near the city median, which is not the case in many neighboring counties. In 2025, HMDA data recorded 3,463 loans in the county, registering a typical total of $10,055 and a central bracket from $5,938 to $16,311. That spread is wide for a modest number of loans, so quotes deserve a careful side-by-side reading. The metro itself is named after Vallejo, yet Fairfield is the city with the higher median home value in this comparison, at $624,300 against $589,500, and its owners make up a larger share too.

Taken together, the figures describe a mid-priced city where owners outnumber renters and a rent that tracks its peers. Treat all values as owners' estimates, not sale prices, and remember that the county and HUD figures cover areas wider than the city.

Calculate for California

If you buy

California state transfer tax

California has no state transfer tax; counties and cities may charge one.

Price$770,700
State transfer taxnot computed
Who paysSet by the purchase contract

Default price: the California median value of owner-occupied homes, $770,700 (Census ACS 2025). Not computed: No state tax. The tax is set by county and city, so it cannot be computed from the state alone. Who pays: Neither the state statute nor the City of Los Angeles FAQ assigns the tax; the purchase contract and escrow instructions decide. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. California transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: California state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Fairfield

How much is property tax in Fairfield?

Homeowners in Solano County pay a median $4,621 a year in property tax, 0.75% of the county median home value of $617,700 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Fairfield?

Home-purchase mortgages in Solano County carried median total loan costs of $10,055 in 2025; half of the 3,463 loans fell between $5,938 and $16,311 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Fairfield?

California has no state transfer tax. Counties may charge $0.55 per $500 of value under the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, and cities such as Los Angeles add their own, with Measure ULA adding 4% or 5.5% on very high-priced sales.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Fairfield?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Fairfield ($624,300) equals 23 years of the median gross rent ($2,266 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Fairfield?

Across California, the main hazards for home insurance are earthquake, wildfire, flood and landslide, and the insurer of last resort is California FAIR Plan. A standard California homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage; insurers must offer earthquake coverage (Insurance Code 10081), and the FAIR Plan sells limited fire coverage up to $3 million for residential policyholders.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

California rules that apply in Fairfield

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides