Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 99,714, settled in 1825. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Trash & recyclingFor most people who can afford it, yes. Canton Township grades A− overall, 139th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Its schools rank ahead of 93% of Michigan towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 92% of the country and the median household earns $121K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $401K for a typical one and 5.2 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. 55% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Canton Township, above both Michigan’s towns (26%) and U.S. towns (29%). Canton Township has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Lilley Road-Lower Rouge River and Thomas and Maria Blackman Bartlett House.
Where Canton Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,333 in 1850, 98,659 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 8 maps from 1905 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Canton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Canton Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
22 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
13 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
22 mi TheatreFox Theatre
22 mi MuseumDetroit Institute of ArtsMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ford Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Detroit Institute of Arts: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Canton Township, 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 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Canton Township.
Canton Township has less COPD than most of Michigan, pairs an A for schools with high home prices and has household incomes well above the Michigan norm.
39 miles of trail in 27 parks and preserves. The trail density in Canton Township is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Lower Rouge Parkway, 261 acres with 4.9 miles of trail.
| Canton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lower Rouge Parkway | 4.9 mi | 261 |
| 2. Zibiwés Nature Area | 2.9 mi | 134 |
| 3. Victory Park | 1.9 mi | 69 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $401K.
Its public schools are run by the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. Three of its 25 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Canton Scholars Charter AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 822 | A− |
| Canton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 1,899 | A+ |
| Gallimore Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 336 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Michigan is COPD: 5.1% of its 37,706 adults have COPD, against 8.1% statewide.
27% of Canton Township adults have obesity. Canton Township beats the Michigan average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of Canton Township adults have high blood pressure.
| Canton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Canton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.1% | 8.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 74.9% | 77.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $5,236, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Canton Township’s median rent is $1,501 a month. The typical Canton Township home is worth about $401,000, up 1.1% in a year, 52% above the Michigan typical home. 39% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Canton Township.
| Canton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,501 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 39% | 45% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Canton Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
23.8% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Canton Township for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2011, Canton Township has added 3,755 jobs, to 22,451 in 2021. The top destinations are Ann Arbor (8%), Detroit (8%) and Livonia (7%).
| Canton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 24% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $121,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Canton Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 61 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
9 within 15 miles of the center of Canton Township
About 7 of every 100 Canton Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Where Canton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
13 places in Canton Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Canton Township.
American township in Michigan, United States
Canton Township (commonly known simply as Canton) is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Canton is located roughly 23 miles (37.0 km) west of downtown Detroit, and 15 miles (24.1 km) east of Ann Arbor. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 98,659, making it Michigan's second most-populated township (after Clinton Township) and ninth most-populated municipality overall.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Canton Township.
Westland next door grades lower for schools (B to Canton Township’s A) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Township | #139 | A− | C− | B− | A | A |
| Van Buren Township | #605 | C− | C | C | C+ | B− |
| Plymouth Township | #26 | A+ | C− | A− | A | A |
| Superior Township | #200 | B+ | C | — | A | A− |
| Westland | #552 | C | B− | C− | B | C |
Superior Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Canton Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Canton Township grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #139 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
14 notable people were born here, including Bazzi and Brandi Rhodes.
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