West Canton has lower household incomes than 98% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 7.9% of residents, next to 13.0% across North Carolina. Jobs and income earn West Canton C; getting around on foot earns it D. 5% of workers have no commute at all, next to 16% for North Carolina as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from West Canton
Jobs & income in West Canton: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, West Canton is better than 31% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds West Canton’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($34,464, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (6.1%) is left out: West Canton’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Canton could be anywhere from C− to B.
West Canton on a workday afternoon
On a workday 484 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere.
About 970 people are in West Canton on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.10 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.
20% of working residents work in Asheville
Where West Canton clocks in
11% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in West Canton
48 jobs are based in West Canton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Canton, 2013 → 2023: 43 → 48. 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 West Canton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way for West Canton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Canton workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 670 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 85% 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 distance from West Canton to work
About 17% 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.
In West Canton, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Canton is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.9% across North Carolina.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 707 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). 4.3% of West Canton households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Canton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How West Canton ranks: 3,263rd of 5,877 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 267 | Northlakes NC | 1,716 | $101K | 2.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,261 | Peace Township MN | 1,005 | $67K | 6.6% | 6.2% | 1% | C |
| 3,262 | Sandy Lake Township PA | 1,187 | $61K | 9.2% | 2.2% | 4% | C |
| 3,263 | West Canton NC | 1,412 | $34K | 7.9% | 6.1% | <1% | C |
| 3,264 | Walnut Township IL | 1,549 | $63K | 7.8% | 3.0% | 11% | C |
| 3,265 | Washington Township IN | 1,436 | $49K | 14.2% | 7.7% | 1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | 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 West Canton, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
12% of West Canton works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Canton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Canton | – | C | D | 24 min | $34,464 |
| Canton | 12% | B− | C | 24 min | $69,924 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Canton. Darker towns draw more of West 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 West Canton: questions
What is the median household income in West Canton?
$34,464 (±$24,214) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Canton?
7.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Canton?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Canton work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (20%, 18 mi), Canton (12%, 2 mi), Waynesville (11%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Canton walkable?
West Canton is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West 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 West Canton, from the people who make the trip.
More of West 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.