ABOUT US

Fairmont, West Virginia

Geography

Size: 9.00 sq mi (5,760 acres)

Elevation: 984 ft

Accessibility

Distance to North Central

West Virginia Airport (CKB): 15 miles

Distance to Pittsburgh

International Airport (PIT): 95 miles

Distance to Washington DC: 220 miles

Population

Fairmont Total Population: 18,575

Marion County Total Population: 56,575

Population within 50 miles: 893,271

Demographics

Median Age: 34.5

Median Household Income: $39,759

Education

High School Graduates or higher: 89.5%

Bachelor's Degree or higher: 26.1%

Higher Education Institutions: 2

Fairmont State University

Pierpont Community & Technical College

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Distance to West Virginia University: 20 miles

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Distance to Alderson Broaddus

University: 30 miles

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Distance to Salem University: 35 miles

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Distance to West Virginia Wesleyan

College: 52 miles

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Distance to Glenville State College: 74 miles

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Distance to Davis & Elkins College: 76 miles

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Distance to Bethany College: 86 miles

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Distance to West Liberty University: 88 miles

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Distance to Wheeling Jesuit University: 93 miles

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Distance to University of Pittsburgh: 94 miles

Notable People

Johnnie Johnson - Inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

as the "Father of Rock & Roll

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Mary Lou Retton - 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist

in Women's Gymnastics

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Nick Saban - Six-time National Champion

Head Football Coach

of the Alabama Crimson Tide

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Frank Kendall Everest - Air Force aeroengineer

best known as

the "Fastest Man Alive"

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Fuzzy Knight - Famous Western film actor from

the early to mid-1900s

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John Knowles - Author of A Separate Peace 

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Robert Tinnell - Screenwriter, director, producer,

and author

of Feast of the Seven Fishes

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David Carpenter - Professional Baseball Player

(Texas Rangers)

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Hershel W. Williams - Battle of Iwo Jima

war hero who was

awarded Medal of Honor.

Did you know?

Fairmont was originally settled in 1820 by

Boaz Fleming as Middletown, being centrally

located in between Morgantown and Clarksburg.

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The pepperoni roll was originally invented at the

Country Club Bakery in 1927 by

Giuseppe "Joseph" Argiro.

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Fairmont is home to the first Father's Day service

which took place during the summer of 1908.

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The Feast of the Seven Fishes Italian street festival

which takes place in Downtown Fairmont each

December is inspired by a famous comic strip and

book by author Robert Tinnell, and has also been

adapted into a feature length film inspired by

the festival.

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The inventor of the world-famous

Original McDonald's Big Mac Sandwich,

Jim Delligatti, was a 1936 graduate of

Fairmont Senior High School.

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Fairmont State University is home to many state and nationwide robotics competitions such as the

Robotics Coding Competition, the FIRST LEGO

League robotics tournament, the VEX U Robotics

Competition, and the World Robot Olympiad.

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In the early 1900s, Fairmont had as many as

100 millionaires living within its borders, most with

heavy ties to the coal industry.

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Thanks to an abundance of sand and natural gas,

Fairmont was well known for its glass industry in

the early 20th century.

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The Celebration of Lights Festival at Morris Park, 

which runs during the winter months, is ranked

as a 2018 Top Twenty event by the Southeastern

Tourism Society.

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Data from: US Census Bureau