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Canton Historical Museum, Canton CTPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jobs & commute in Canton

Household incomes in Canton are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns

Home is the office for 25% of workers; Connecticut has 16%. 5.7% of residents are in poverty; Connecticut has 10.0%. The two grades for Canton are A for jobs and income and B− for walkability.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

What the numbers say about work in Canton

The better-paid jobs are outside Canton

74% of Canton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 47% of the jobs based in Canton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓

Home offices are common in Canton

25% of Canton workers work from home, against 16% across Connecticut. Time on the road ↓

Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.

Jobs & income grade

What’s behind Canton’s Jobs & income grade

On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Canton is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #46 of 155 in Connecticut. Household income is its strongest input ($117,991, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.

Household income $117,991 (±$19,778) · CT $95,781 · U.S. $80,734Higher than 87% of U.S. towns
Poverty 5.7% · CT 10.0% · U.S. 12.5%Lower than 76% of U.S. towns
Unemployment 3.1% (±1.8) · CT 5.6% · U.S. 5.2%Lower than 68% of U.S. towns
Job access by car EPA, jobs within a 45-minute driveMore than 76% of U.S. towns
Connecticut towns we grade 155 towns#46 of 155
B+A+

A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Canton could be anywhere from B+ to A+.

How TownRatings grades jobs & income →

★ What stands out · The jobs

The 3,234 jobs based in Canton

Jobs based in CantonJobs Canton residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms7%13%
Trade, transport & utilities34%15%
Services: health, schools, offices59%72%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less24%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%15%
Over $3,333 a month47%74%

Who does it

29 or younger30%17%
30 to 5443%52%
55 and older27%31%
+14%

Jobs based in Canton, 2013 → 2023: 2,842 → 3,234. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Canton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The trip to work from Canton: about 29 minutes

A year of commuting
221 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Canton29 min
Connecticut27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
25%

of Canton workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Canton gets to work
90%Drive alone
8%Carpool
<1%Transit
1%Walk

Share of the 3,619 commuters (the 25% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

Day and night

How many people are in Canton by day

On a workday 3,948 residents head out to work, 469 work right here, and 2,765 people come in from elsewhere.

3,948live here, work elsewhere
469live and work here
2,765work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night10,000
Workday9,100
10,000live here− 3,900head out to work+ 2,800come in to work= 9,100on a workday

About 9,100 people are in Canton on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.73jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.73 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

11% of working residents work in Hartford

Hartford: 507 residents work here (11%)Torrington: 115 residents work here (3%)Bristol: 153 residents work here (3%)CantonGranbyBloomfield: 141 residents work here (3%)BurlingtonAvon: 242 residents work here (5%)WinchesterFarmington: 306 residents work here (7%)BarkhamstedNew HartfordSimsbury: 234 residents work here (5%)West Hartford: 158 residents work here (4%)Windsor: 148 residents work here (3%)CollinsvilleHartfordFarmingtonAvonSimsburyWest HartfordBristolCanton
1
Hartford13.1 mi away
11%507
2
Canton (in town)right here
11%469
3
Farmington9.4 mi away
7%306
4
Avon5.5 mi away
5%242
5
Simsbury4 mi away
5%234
6
West Hartford9.9 mi away
4%158
7
Bristol12.3 mi away
3%153
8
Windsor11.8 mi away
3%148
9
Bloomfield8.4 mi away
3%141
10
Torrington11.8 mi away
3%115
Everywhere elseother towns and states
44%1,944
The top trips

Where Canton clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

How far

Half of Canton commutes less than 12 miles

10 mi25 mi30 miHartford: 11% · 13.1 miFarmington: 7% · 9.4 miAvon: 5% · 5.5 miSimsbury: 5% · 4 miWest Hartford: 4% · 9.9 miBristol: 3% · 12.3 miWindsor: 3% · 11.8 miBloomfield: 3% · 8.4 miTorrington: 3% · 11.8 miHartford 11%Farmington 7%Avon 5%Simsbury 5%Canton
CantonTop destinations (size = commuters)
35%Under 10 mi1,541 residents
47%10–24 mi2,068 residents
10%25–50 mi462 residents
8%Over 50 mi342 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

Getting around · Walkability grade

In Canton, most people drive to work

On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Canton is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #98 of 155 in Connecticut. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across Connecticut.

EPA walkability index 7.8 of 20 · typical CT town 7.1 · U.S. 6.9Higher than 64% of U.S. towns
Walk, bike or transit 1.5% of commuters · CT 7.1% · U.S. 7.1%Higher than 37% of U.S. towns
Connecticut towns we grade 155 towns#98 of 155
B−B−

A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,810 workers.

How TownRatings grades walkability →

Transit service (shown, not graded). 16% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.

Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020

Stamford31.8
Canton4.8

Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.4% of Canton households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Canton’s commuters take a bus or train.

Towns its size

502nd of 2,878: where Canton ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000

#TownPeopleHousehold incomePovertyUnemploymentWork in townGrade
1Des Peres MO9,102$224K2.0%0.5%5%A+
2Beverly Hills MI10,449$177K1.7%1.6%3%A+
3Ladue MO8,934$250K1.1%1.7%5%A+
…
181Oxford CT13,311$129K4.0%2.3%9%A+
…
220Granby CT11,963$120K3.2%2.3%10%A+
…
245Prospect CT9,638$126K3.2%3.3%7%A
…
500Dripping Springs TX11,167$109K2.1%3.4%9%A
501McFarland WI9,145$98K3.8%3.4%8%A
502Canton CT10,304$118K5.7%3.1%11%A
503Rosaryville MD12,883$159K3.8%5.4%1%A
504Lowell AR12,184$96K6.9%1.4%9%A
…
2,878Shiprock NM7,610$36K34.6%14.9%14%D−

Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.

Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Canton, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.

Next door

Next door is work for 10% of Canton

The biggest share goes to Avon (5%).

Jobs & commute next door

TownCanton workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Canton–AB−29 min$117,991
New Hartfordunder 3%AB30 min$109,695
Burlingtonunder 3%AC29 min$165,120
Avon5%AB+25 min$154,058
Simsbury5%AB+26 min$157,907
Barkhamstedunder 3%B+C+28 min$123,544
Granbyunder 3%A+C+28 min$120,275

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Canton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
  • Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Canton: questions

What is the median household income in Canton?

$117,991 (±$19,778) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Canton?

5.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Canton?

29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Canton work?

11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hartford (11%, 13 mi), Farmington (7%, 9 mi), Avon (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Is Canton walkable?

Canton is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.

Can you get around Canton without a car?

<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Canton, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Canton

Canton home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.