Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainWith 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Canton works elsewhere
138 jobs are based in Canton for 495 working residents. Canton grades C− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Measured by household income, Canton is behind 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Canton: the figures worth knowing
Fewer jobs are based in Canton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Canton fell from 300 in 2013 to 138 in 2023, −54%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Canton is a place people come home to
There are 138 jobs based in Canton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Canton has about 770 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Canton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 495 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Canton’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Canton is better than 20% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Canton’s grade up (8.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.7%) is left out: Canton’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Canton could be anywhere from D to B−.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Canton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Canton, 2013 → 2023: 300 → 138. 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.
Canton quiets down on a workday
On a workday 489 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 132 people come in from elsewhere.
About 770 people are in Canton on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
Getting to work from Canton takes about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Canton workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 392 commuters (the 16% 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.
10% of working residents work in Rumford
Where Canton clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
7% 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.
Miles to work from Canton
About 23% 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 trips from Canton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Canton is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 3.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 467 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). 4.1% of Canton households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Canton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Canton is 2,568th of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 587 | Edgecomb ME | 1,214 | $109K | 5.6% | 3.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 904 | Georgetown ME | 1,101 | $84K | 6.3% | 3.5% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,008 | Wayne ME | 1,167 | $93K | 7.9% | 1.3% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,566 | Ansonia OH | 1,147 | $62K | 17.2% | 5.3% | 2% | C− |
| 2,567 | Preston Township IL | 1,166 | $54K | 9.2% | 0.0% | 1% | C− |
| 2,568 | Canton ME | 1,123 | $52K | 8.4% | 5.7% | 1% | C− |
| 2,569 | Bridgewater Township OH | 1,404 | $77K | 23.3% | 4.7% | 1% | C− |
| 2,570 | Cuba NY | 1,490 | $62K | 14.1% | 3.3% | 12% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Maine.
Next door to Canton
The biggest share goes to Dixfield (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Canton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | – | C− | C− | 35 min | $52,458 |
| Peru | under 3% | C− | C | 29 min | $66,827 |
| Jay | under 3% | C+ | C | 21 min | $70,238 |
| Hartford | under 3% | C+ | D− | 41 min | $87,115 |
| Livermore | under 3% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $70,441 |
| Dixfield | 9% | C | D | 25 min | $70,613 |
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.
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 Canton: questions
What is the median household income in Canton?
$52,458 (±$34,984) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Canton?
8.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Canton?
35 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Canton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rumford (10%, 17 mi), Dixfield (9%, 6 mi), Auburn (7%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Canton walkable?
Canton is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Canton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Canton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Canton
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.