Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Canton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $200K, 3.1 years of the Quincy area’s $65K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 59th among Missouri's 247 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $55K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns. 12% of residents are under 18 in Canton, where Missouri’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 22%. Canton is home to Culver-Stockton College. On history, just 29 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better.
Where Canton beats most towns.
Henderson Hall2,377 counted in 2010 and 2,774 in 2020; an estimated 2,763 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 16.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Canton is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for jobs and income (better than 10%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,496 in 1860, 2,774 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Canton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Canton.
Canton is shaped by its college students, sends many workers across the state line to Quincy and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Canton is 3.6 per 1,000 residents. Only 6 of the 170 Missouri towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Canton.
| Canton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Canton R-V school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 287 | C |
| Canton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 221 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $736, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Canton’s median rent is $563 a month. Typical home values rose 7.1% in the year to September 2026.
| Canton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $563 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Canton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 18° and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
33% of working residents cross a state line to work, Quincy among the top destinations. Canton has about as many jobs (981) as working residents, but only 229 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Canton’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Canton grew to 981 in 2023, 147 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Quincy (17%), Ellington Township (8%) and Hannibal (4%).
| Canton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Canton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,526 U.S. towns with household incomes like Canton’s, it is healthier than 85%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
27% of adults have high blood pressure in Canton. Canton beats the Missouri average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 8.2% of adults have diabetes in Canton.
| Canton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 78% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 12% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Canton | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.2% | 12.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 8.6% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 21.7% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.5 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Canton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. College Hill | 0.2 mi | 5 |
| 2. Martin Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Canton Community Garden | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Canton
College town 23 of every 100 Canton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
3 places in Canton on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Canton.
City in Missouri, United States
Canton is a city in Lewis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,774 at the 2020 census. Canton is the home of Culver–Stockton College, a small liberal arts college affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It also had the oldest continuously operating ferry across the Mississippi River, which closed in April 2014. Four members of the United States House of Representatives have come from Canton, and are buried in the city's Forest Grove Cemetery. Canton is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Canton.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Canton grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #59 of 247 in Missouri. It grades B− for health, A for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income 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 A+.
6 notable people were born here, including Bill Russell and James Tilghman Lloyd.
