In Search of Fairfax

Map: Jewish Income Levels by Neighborhood, 1951


Whether coming from the Midwest and East Coast or the the Eastside neighborhood of Boyle Heights, a move to the Fairfax area tended to represent a modest though nevertheless meaningful expression of upward mobility in an overwhelmingly Jewish setting. Indeed, Fairfax was never quite an area marked by affluence but a home for the barely middle class. In comparison to most of other neighborhoods where Jews settled during the postwar era, the Jews of Fairfax were more likely to have a lower-than average median household income. They were also less likely to own a home and more likely to work in the clerical and sales fields.

Source: Fred Massarik, “A Report on the Jewish Population of Los Angeles, 1951” (Los Angeles: Jewish Federation-Council of Greater Los Angeles, 1951).

This page has paths: