That's true of restaurants (McDonald's, which serves 69 million people daily is better than The French Laundry in Yountville, which serves a few dozen). It's true of music ("White Christmas" is the greatest song ever, followed by "Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John, because they're the top sellers. No. 3 "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry is better than anything by the Beatles or Mozart or Elvis). It's also true of movies (Sadly, "Avatar" is the greatest movie of all time, but "Jurassic World" is a top-10 all-time movie).
It's also true of cities, which is why Fairfield is so much better than many smaller cities.
Duh.
"Popular" and "population" come from the same word: Pop, which means "better." (Don't check this. Trust me.)
According to 2022 Census data, Fairfield has 119,705 people. Fairfield is the 239th largest city in the United States and the 52nd largest in California.
That means Fairfield is the 239th best city in the United States and the 52nd-best city in California.
Don't blame me, blame math.
While that may not seem great, realize there are more than 100,000 cities in the United States and nearly 500 in California. So Fairfield is in the top half of the top 1% of cities in the United States and in the top 10% of California cities (no surprise: California is the most populated state in the nation, so it's the best.).
Understanding Fairfield is an elite city, based on popularity (the only fair way to rank cities) is fine. But consider some "famous" cities that Fairfield is better than, based on popularity. This is not an exhaustive list, but it's good for context. Four American and one Canadian city that aren't as good as Fairfield because they're not as populated (disagree with me? Blame math!):
Carmel, California. Wow, Carmel has missions! Oh, it's so close to Pebble Beach! Oh, Clint Eastwood was mayor! Well, here's the facts: Carmel has 3,200 people. Measured by population, Fairfield is 37 times better than Carmel.
Woodstock, New York. Home of the famous 1969 music festival (and infamous 1999 attempt to duplicate it), Woodstock has less than 6,000 people. Is it fair that more people know about Woodstock than know about Travis Air Force Base? Not in my America. Fairfield is better than Woodstock.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Site of the famous Civil War battle and Lincoln's speech, Gettysburg is pretty great. But if it was really that great, wouldn't more than 7,000 people live there? Fairfield rules. It's about four score and seven times better than Gettysburg (In this case, don't do the math. Trust me.).
Lake Placid, New York. The site of two Winter Olympics is famous, but big deal! Fairfield hosted the Fairfield Classic bike race in the early 2000s, is the home of the Fairfield Expos baseball team and four high schools that play sports. There are about 2,200 residents in Lake Placid. Sad!
Banff, Alberta. The Canadian city is famous because it's inside Banff National Park. But there are less than 10,000 people, so how great can it be? Banff is inside a national park, Fairfield includes Allan Witt Park. Which is better? Fairfield has 10 times more people. It's better.
For historical context, Babylon was the biggest city in the world in 1200 BC. It's population was 80,000 . . . meaning modern-day Fairfield is nearly 50% better than ancient Babylon.
Fairfielders, be proud! You live in a city that's among the top half of the top 1% in the United States and is better than ancient Babylon.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.
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