It's one of the few nonmetropolitan areas in Iowa posting strong population growth, according to U.S. Yet the place that Oprah Winfrey dubbed 'America's most unusual town' is more than just quirky. Locals claim the city is home to more restaurants per capita than San Francisco. 'And we see it is allowing more young people to put down roots in this community.'Īround town, there is no shortage of small-city staples like Casey's General Store and Pizza Ranch, though Fairfield is better known for its funky coffee houses, shops and restaurants. 'We have a great quality-of-life culture and an entrepreneurial culture,' said Mayor Ed Malloy. During that time, Fairfield went from 714 employers to 751, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

While Fairfield is home to 1,000 fewer jobs than it had 15 years ago, state figures show employers have rebounded in the last five years, adding nearly 700 jobs between 20. Fairfield was able to capitalize on that unique niche, building a surprisingly metropolitan quality of life. This southeast Iowa city is known as a magnet for practitioners of Transcendental Meditation at Maharishi University of Management, who flocked here since the 1970s. Since 1969, census data show Iowa's metropolitan areas have gained nearly a half million people, while smaller cities and rural places have lost more than 171,000 residents.īut Fairfield has prospered, particularly in recent years. Between 20, the city saw a 4 percent population gain - a rate that rivaled the growth of some of Iowa's much larger metro areas.

Sky factory 2.5