Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Canterbury gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $417K for a typical one, or 4.6 years of the Putnam area’s $91K median household income. It grades B overall, 88th among Connecticut's 151 graded towns. On the plus side, the median household earns $103K. On walkability, just 8 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse. Canterbury’s trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile, against 1.3 in Connecticut’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 3 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse.
Where Canterbury beats most towns.
Prudence Crandall House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,984 in 1820, a low of 868 in 1910, 5,045 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1810 and 7 maps from 1889 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Canterbury takes its name from Canterbury in Kent, England, 3,390 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionCanterbury, settled in 1703, takes its name from Canterbury, a large town in Kent, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Canterbury is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Canterbury. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw40 mi MuseumThe Breakers
35 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
15 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun Arena
40 mi MuseumMarble House
39 mi MuseumThe ElmsLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · Mohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Marble House: [email protected], Public domain · The Elms: The original uploader was Daderot at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Canterbury, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Canterbury.
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 74% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is no health insurance: 6.5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10% statewide.
Canterbury beats the Connecticut average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 37% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Canterbury, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 33% and U.S. towns at 36%. 12% of Canterbury adults smoke cigarettes.
| Canterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Canterbury | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.9% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Canterbury School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 295 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests
Most working residents leave Canterbury for work: only 9% work in town. The average trip to work in Canterbury is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Canterbury grew to 646 in 2023, 122 more than in 2013.
| Canterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Canterbury has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Canterbury’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
11 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. Only 10 of the 155 Connecticut towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than Canterbury. The biggest park or preserve is Quinebaug Wildlife Area, at 353 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Robert Manship Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 2. Quinebaug Wildlife Area | — | 353 |
| 3. Quinebaug Fish Hatchery | — | 134 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Only 2 of the 151 Connecticut towns we compare have a lower median rent than Canterbury. 89% of households own their home in Canterbury. Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026.
| Canterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $924 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Canterbury
About 4 of every 100 Canterbury residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
Where Canterbury’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Canterbury on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Canterbury.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Canterbury is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Canterbury.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | #88 | B | B+ | — | C | A− |
| Plainfield | #103 | B− | C+ | A+ | C | B− |
| Scotland | — | — | B− | — | C | B+ |
| Wauregan | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hampton | — | — | B− | — | C | B+ |
| Brooklyn | #117 | C+ | C+ | — | C | B+ |
Scotland and Hampton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Canterbury, Scotland, Hampton and Brooklyn report no FBI crime data of their own. Wauregan isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Canterbury with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Canterbury grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #88 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A− for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
12 notable people were born here, including Chauncey Fitch Cleveland and Mason Fitch Cogswell.
