City of Fairmont

There are 11,000 people living in Fairmont, which, thanks to a growing immigrant community attracted to the area’s agricultural economy, is on track to becoming increasingly diverse micropolis. There are 4,812 households and 2,816 families residing in the city, with a population density of 349.1 per square mile.

Population

Total Population

10,385

Population
Growth Rate

-0.26%

Median Age

44

Diversity Index

39.600

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Housing & Income

Households

4,672

Total Housing Units

5,137


Owner Occupied

3,055

Renter Occupied

1,617

Vacant

465

Median Home Value

$183,421


Average Home Value

$233,603

Income
Growth Rate

Median
Household Income

0.00%


Per Capita Income

1.55%

Income Projection

Median Household

$60,585 $68,002


Average Household

$84,065 $91,027


Per Capita

$37,849 $40,878

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Workforce

Total Businesses

683

Total Employed

8,077

Workers 16+

5,018

2025 Retail Trade Businesses

cp-industries

Businesses

80

Employed

1,311

2025 HealthCare / Social Assistance

cp-industries

Businesses

67

Employed

1,015

2025 Manufacturing Businesses

cp-industries

Businesses

32

Employed

984

2025 Educational Services - Businesses

cp-industries

Businesses

20

Employed

936

2025 Accommodation / Food Service

cp-industries

Businesses

40

Employed

763

2025 Food Service / Drinking Est.

cp-industries

Businesses

32

Employed

702

Some
High School

222

Graduated
High School

2,172

Associates
Degree

1,221

Bachelor's
Degree

1,194

Graduate
Degree

818

Average Commute Time

15 min.



Resident Commuters

4,464

Non-Resident Commuters

526

Drive Alone

4,115

Carpooled

256

Public

0

Work At Home

352

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Transportation

location mapFairmont is centrally located and, as a result, well positioned to both participate in traditional modes of commerce and thrive as the world’s economy speeds to and from your door.


planePlanes

Most all types of prop or corporate jet aircraft can fly in-and-out of Fairmont’s Municipal Airport, which is equipped with an Instrument Landing System (ILS), 5,500 and 3,500-foot runways, 24-hour fuel service, meeting spaces and accessible ground transportation.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is just 150 miles from Fairmont and accessible both by Interstate 90 and 35. The 16th busiest airport in the United States, MSP International serves 155 nonstop markets, including 126 domestic and 29 international destinations. (Only Atlanta and Denver serve more nonstop markets per capita.)   


trainTrains

The Southern Minnesota Railroad came to Fairmont in 1878, marking a development renaissance. Today service to Fairmont is provided by the Union Pacific and the Canadian Pacific (owned IC & E railroads). Freight and grain service is available to almost any national market.


highwayAutomobiles

Highway access to the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area is available via Interstates 90 and 35 and also by Highways 15, 60 and 169. Access to other Upper Midwest commercial and industrial centers, such as Des Moines, Sioux Falls and Chicago is also available by the same Interstate Highways. Fairmont also serves as a hub to a strong network of county and local roads that support and feed the regional network.


CityMileage Distances
Chicago472 Miles
Denver756 Miles
Des Moines208 Miles
Indianapolis657 Miles
Indianapolis402 Miles
Milwaukee405 Miles
Minneapolis/St. Paul120 Miles
Omaha205 Miles
Rapid City460 Miles
Rochester120 Miles
St. Louis598 Miles
Sioux City100 Miles
Winnipeg571 Miles

 


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Utilities

Utility Rebates/Utilities

Fairmont’s city leaders believe it’s important to continue to expand its public utility infrastructure, which currently serve 4,800 residential customers, including 828 commercial and 12 industrial users. Governed by a five-member Public Utilities Commission, the utility also provides service to 200 rural customers.

Fairmont’s Municipal Water System uses Budd Lake as its primary raw, with a storage capacity of over 5 million gallons. Wholesale electricity is purchased through Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) and local distribution lines are maintained by the City of Fairmont.  SMMPA also owns a 36 MW generating facility within city limits. Natural Gas is distributed by Minnesota Energy, which has a local branch in town. The city is also situated just four miles from the Northern Border Pipeline and Northern Natural Gas.

Fairmont Public Utilities, in conjunction with the (SMMPA), offers energy efficiency rebates on qualifying Energy Star appliances for our residential customers and rebates on Energy Star business equipment for our commercial clients.

Frontier Communications, Midcontinent Communications and BEVCOMM serve residents’ digital needs. In 2016, Martin County Broadband committee partnered with Frontier to acquire a “Border to Border” grant, to make Internet access even more feasible for citizens across the economic spectrum.

VIEW THE PUBLIC UTILITIES PAGE

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