Canaan has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs and income earn Canaan C; getting around on foot earns it C. There are 365 jobs in Canaan, and 997 of its residents work somewhere. 3% of workers work from home, where Maine as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Canaan, in brief
Canaan workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (24 to 30 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Few Canaan workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; with 997 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Canaan’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Canaan is better than 29% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Canaan’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 22% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Canaan could be anywhere from D to B.
About 34 minutes each way for Canaan’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Canaan workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 976 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Maine: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily flow of workers through Canaan
On a workday 959 residents head out to work, 38 work right here, and 327 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Canaan on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
22% of working residents work in Skowhegan
Where Canaan clocks in
22% of workers
11% of workers
8% of workersLines 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.
What Canaan’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Canaan, 2013 → 2023: 437 → 365. 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 Canaan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Canaan
About 19% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Most of Canaan commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Canaan is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Canaan near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,007 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.0% of Canaan households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Canaan’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,343rd of 5,102: where Canaan ranks among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 276 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 570 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 624 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,341 | Neillsville WI | 2,367 | $60K | 15.1% | 3.1% | 40% | C |
| 3,342 | Mount Carroll Township IL | 1,897 | $54K | 13.3% | 2.9% | 12% | C |
| 3,343 | Canaan ME | 2,219 | $58K | 12.9% | 3.5% | 4% | C |
| 3,344 | Lipscomb AL | 2,015 | $42K | 34.1% | 4.3% | 1% | C |
| 3,345 | Waterville MN | 1,757 | $76K | 12.0% | 7.3% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Canaan, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns next door employ 26% of Canaan
The biggest share goes to Skowhegan (22%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Canaan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan | – | C | C | 34 min | $57,781 |
| Skowhegan | 22% | C− | A− | 25 min | $49,485 |
| Hartland | under 2% | D | C− | 30 min | $46,141 |
| Pittsfield | 2% | C− | B+ | 24 min | $57,381 |
| Clinton | 2% | B | D | 30 min | $71,458 |
| Cornville | under 2% | C | D | 28 min | $79,926 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Canaan’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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.
Jobs and commuting in Canaan: questions
What is the median household income in Canaan?
$57,781 (±$12,505) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Canaan?
12.9%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Canaan?
34 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Canaan work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Skowhegan (22%, 6 mi), Waterville (11%, 17 mi), Augusta (8%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Canaan walkable?
Canaan is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Canaan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Canaan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Canaan
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.