Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
95% more library visits per person than the typical South Dakota town.
Canton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $301K for a typical one, or 3.6 years of the Sioux Falls metro’s $83K median household income. It grades A− overall, 9th among South Dakota's 35 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 71% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, its public schools beat 75% of South Dakota towns on state tests and graduation. Canton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 99% of U.S. towns. Canton has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Canton Lutheran Church and Canton Carnegie Library. Only 1 of the 33 South Dakota towns we compare have a lower median rent than Canton.
Where Canton beats most towns.
John Isakson House
Census counts: 675 in 1880, 3,066 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 4 maps from 1897 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Canton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Canton.
Canton pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the South Dakota norm, pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and fares better on crime within South Dakota than nationally.
Its A− for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $301K.
Its public schools are run by the Canton School District 41-1. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Elementary - 02Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 411 | A |
| Canton High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 283 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Canton for work: only 19% work in town. Canton’s average trip to work is 20 minutes, above South Dakota’s towns (17 minutes) but below U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs based in Canton fell to 1,178 in 2023, 179 fewer than in 2013.
| Canton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.1% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 2005, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Canton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Canton has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 8° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,149 U.S. towns with household incomes like Canton’s, it is healthier than 85%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within South Dakota it is less healthy than 79% of the 35 graded towns: South Dakota sets a high bar.
Canton beats the South Dakota average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Canton, against 30% in South Dakota’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 38% of Canton adults have obesity.
| Canton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Canton | SD |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.2% | 12.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Canton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kennedy Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Chautauqua Park | — | 9 |
| 3. West Ball Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Canton grades A− overall with a typical home of about $301K, below the South Dakota typical value; only 2 of the 8 South Dakota towns graded A− or better can say that. Values fell 3% in the past year while the South Dakota typical home rose 2.4%.
The typical Canton home is worth about $301,000, 5% below the South Dakota typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 19.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 64% of South Dakota’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Canton is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Canton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.8 per 1,000 residents | 10.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Canton. Close and well known come first.
19 mi Zoo & aquariumGreat Plains Zoo
18 mi MuseumWashington Pavilion of Arts and Science
40 mi MuseumNational Music Museum
19 mi MuseumPettigrew Home & Museum39 mi MuseumPorter Sculpture Park
31 mi MuseumHinkly House MuseumGreat Plains Zoo: Jake DeGroot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science: Jon Platek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National Music Museum: Charvex, Public domain · Pettigrew Home & Museum: Jerry from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hinkly House Museum: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Canton; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Canton residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.
13 places in Canton on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Canton.
City in South Dakota, United States
Canton is a city in South Dakota and the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. Canton is located 18 miles south of Sioux Falls in southeastern South Dakota. The city was named by Norwegian settler and former legislator James M. Wahl. The population was 3,066 as of the 2020 census. The City of Canton was the recipient of the South Dakota Community of the Year Award in 2004 and in 2011. The city is also home to the Canton Industrial Park, which became the first South Dakota Certified Ready Site in July of 2012.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Canton.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton · Canton Township | #9 | A− | A | B− | A− | B |
Canton Township and Canton are one community, graded once. Compare Canton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Canton grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #9 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades B for health, B− for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 Ernest Lawrence and Tim Johnson.
