Lace House · National Register of Historic Places
Canaan’s story
212 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1806.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1814Canaan is settled
CanaanNY
3 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,518
2025 Census estimate · −3.2% since 2020
Typical home
$535K
+2.6% in a year
Household income
$107K
median
Median age
54.0
years
Jobs based here
402
A commuter town
Is Canaan a good place to live?
Canaan’s best subject grades are an A for health, history, and civic life; its weakest is a D for cost of living. 58% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Canaan, against 32% in New York’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Canaan has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Lace House and Red Rock Schoolhouse. Canaan has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Canaan stand out
Where Canaan beats most towns.
Lace HouseHistoryA
Settled in 1814
3 places on the National Register
A history going back 212 years.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Canaan8.7
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical NY town4.2
Civic lifeA
2.1 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical New York town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
A commuter town
90% of working residents leave Canaan for work
Where Canaan’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
402jobs based in Canaan
10%of working residents work in town
23 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Canaan grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Canaan is from typical.
HealthBerkshire Medical Center 11.3 miles awayAOpen →Cost of livingDOpen →Jobs & income$107K median household incomeB+Open →SchoolsBehind 61% of New York districts on tests and graduationC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.9 of 20; 8.5% of households have no car; 6.1% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 45% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors4 miles of trails; 8% conserved landB−Open →History3 places on the National Register; 11 notable people born hereAOpen →Civic life8.7 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsAOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 134 attractions →Tanglewood and 52 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Canaan. Close and well known come first.
8 mi TheatreTanglewood
22 mi MountainMount Greylock
10 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell Museum
23 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
24 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
22 mi MuseumUSS SlaterSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5 · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Canaan: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Canaan, and how to reach them.
PowerNew York State Elec & Gas22.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterBreezy Hills Community water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers80% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Canaan’s trash rules yet
SchoolsChatham Central School DistrictNew Lebanon Central School District2 districts serve Canaan; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereColumbia County Board of ElectionsColumbia County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2026
ZIP codes12029, 1206012029 56% · 12060 43%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Canaan.
HealthA
Canaan ranks healthier than 90% of the country’s towns
Canaan beats the New York average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Canaan, below both the New York town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (17%). 28% of adults feel lonely in Canaan.
90%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Canaan | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. New York
14 better16 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Canaan | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.3% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.9% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.4% | 7.7% |
Berkshire Medical Center
11.3 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of Canaan’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Canaan for work: only 10% work in town. The average trip to work in Canaan is 31 minutes. Since 2013, Canaan has lost 66 jobs, to 402 in 2023.
10%work in town
| Canaan | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.4% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $107,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Canaan10%
New York10%
Albany9%
Ghent7%
Pittsfield6%
23 mi
median commute distance
402
jobs based in Canaan
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Canaan
Canaan has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Canaan’s July high is 81°F.
50″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–35°
Spring34–56°
Summer56–79°
Fall40–60°
Oct 5
typical first frost
May 5
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsB−
Conserved land covers 8.2% of Canaan
3.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Beebe Hill State Forest, at 500 acres.
8.2%conserved
| Canaan | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
8.2%
conserved · 1,935 of 23,488 acres
3.9 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beebe Hill State Forest | — | 500 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B−
Canaan faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Canaan.
45risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesHurricanes
3
paid flood claims since 1978
9
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HousingCost of living grade D
Homes in Canaan are worth about $535K, by Zillow’s estimate
The typical Canaan home is worth about $535,000, up 2.6% in a year, close to the New York typical home. 81% of Canaan households own their home.
$535KZillow home value
| Canaan | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,632 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Canaan$535K
New York$525K
+2.6%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Canaan
19pages on Canaan
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Canaan
Berkshire Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Pittsfield, MA8.2 mi$6,164 in-state tuitionBard College at Simon's RockUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Great Barrington, MA14 mi$68,780 tuition
About 2 of every 100 Canaan residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Famous people from Canaan
11 notable people were born in Canaan.
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About Canaan
Town in New York, United States
Canaan is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,570 at the 2020 census, down from 1,710 at the 2010 census. The town is in the northeastern part of the county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 981 ft
- ZIP code
- 12029
- Area code
- 518
Canaan’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Canaan.
ChathamAusterlitzNew LebanonCanaan
How the neighbors grade
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan | — | — | D | — | C+ | A |
| Chatham | #426 | B− | C | — | C+ | A |
| Austerlitz | — | — | C− | — | C+ | A |
| New Lebanon | — | — | B− | — | B− | A− |
Canaan, Austerlitz and New Lebanon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Canaan, Chatham, Austerlitz and New Lebanon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Canaan with a neighbor →
Questions about Canaan
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Canaan, NY expensive?
Yes. That is 6.6 years of the area's median household income ($81,528 across the Hudson, NY area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
What is Canaan, NY known for?
11 notable people were born here, including Daniel Cady and Charles Lewis Beale.