Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Canaan grades C+ overall, 96th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 80% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. It also does better than most on safety: it reports less crime per resident than 74% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $82K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $391K, 4.7 years of the Lebanon area’s $83K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. On the outdoors, just 3 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Bear Hill Conservancy Land, 1,633 acres with 3.4 miles of trail. Only 5 of the 125 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Canaan.
Where Canaan beats most towns.
Census counts: 483 in 1790, a low of 483 in 1790, 3,794 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 4 maps from 1927 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Canaan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Canaan, 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 19, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Canaan.
Canaan has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports violent crime at about twice the New Hampshire rate and has poverty well above the New Hampshire rate.
Only 9 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Canaan. Since 1992, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Canaan.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mascoma Valley Regional High School, with 303 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian River SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 292 | C |
| Mascoma Valley Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 303 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Canaan for work: only 13% work in town. At 30 minutes, Canaan’s average trip to work is above both New Hampshire’s towns (28 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The top destinations are Lebanon (33%), Hanover (12%) and Hartford (5%).
| Canaan | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime runs at 2.6 per 1,000 residents, about twice the New Hampshire rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its B+. Canaan is safe by national standards, yet each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Enfield (A−) to Grafton (A+).
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Canaan sits closer to the middle.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within New Hampshire it is less healthy than 77% of the 126 graded towns: New Hampshire sets a high bar.
Canaan beats the New Hampshire average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 29% of adults have obesity in Canaan, below both the New Hampshire town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 25% of Canaan adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Canaan | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Canaan | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.7% | 8.9% |
| More smokers | 14.3% | 10.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
74.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.2% across New Hampshire.
The typical Canaan home is worth about $391,000, up 3.3% in a year, 23% below the New Hampshire typical home. The median rent in Canaan is $1,140 a month.
| Canaan | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,140 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 82% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
36 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 9 have a lower trail density than Canaan.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bear Pond Natural Area | 4 mi | 936 |
| 2. Bear Hill Conservancy Land | 3.4 mi | 1,633 |
| 3. Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (Mascoma River Division) | 1.9 mi | 743 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Newport weather station, 23 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 140 days, shorter than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Canaan has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Canaan’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Canaan. Close and well known come first.
37 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
38 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
38 mi Ski areaCannon Mountain104 runs · 2,201 ft vertical7 mi Ski areaDartmouth Skiway48 runs · 991 ft vertical
39 mi Ski areaOkemo Mountain119 runs · 2,165 ft vertical
32 mi Ski areaWaterville Valley Resort84 runs · 1,990 ft verticalLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Killington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cannon Mountain: Mikespenard at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Okemo Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Waterville Valley Resort: MConradWard, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Canaan
About 7 of every 100 Canaan residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
Where Canaan’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Canaan on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Canaan.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Canaan is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,794 at the 2020 census. It is the location of Mascoma State Forest. Canaan is home to the Cardigan Mountain School, the town's largest employer. The main village of the town, where 442 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Canaan census-designated place (CDP), and is located at the junction of U.S. Route 4 with New Hampshire Route 118.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Canaan.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan | #96 | C+ | C+ | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Dorchester | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Enfield | #77 | B | C− | A− | B− | A |
| Orange | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hanover | #15 | A | D− | A | A+ | A+ |
| Grafton | — | — | C− | A+ | B− | A− |
| Groton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Grafton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Dorchester, Orange and Groton aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Canaan with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Canaan grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #96 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Canaan sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Frank Dunklee Currier and Anna Augusta Truitt.
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