Photo: MyName (Billy Hathorn) · CC BY 3.0Canton has lower unemployment (0.7%) than 96% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Canton B−; getting around on foot earns it C+. About one in five work in Canton; the top destination outside it is Tyler (8%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Canton
Canton is where the jobs are
Canton has 3,065 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Canton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Canton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Canton is Tyler, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (126) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Canton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Canton is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #318 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Canton’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($51,027, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Canton could be anywhere from C to B+.
Who leaves Canton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,213 residents head out to work, 283 work right here, and 2,782 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,600 people are in Canton on a workday afternoon, 31% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Each way, about 37 minutes from Canton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Canton workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,688 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% 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.
Miles to work from Canton
About 34% 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.
The daily trip into Canton
Where Canton clocks in
8% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Canton’s 3,065 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Canton, 2013 → 2023: 2,618 → 3,065. 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 Canton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Canton is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Canton is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns, #399 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,880 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). 4.0% of Canton households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Canton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800, Canton ranks 2,195th of 3,758 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 8 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Garden Ridge TX | 4,371 | $177K | 0.4% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,193 | Henry Township OH | 4,124 | $62K | 12.6% | 3.1% | 12% | B− |
| 2,194 | Harlem GA | 4,239 | $46K | 10.8% | 2.3% | 3% | B− |
| 2,195 | Canton TX | 5,070 | $51K | 11.7% | 0.7% | 19% | B− |
| 2,196 | Athens NY | 3,917 | $85K | 6.6% | 6.3% | 5% | B− |
| 2,197 | Knox Township OH | 3,914 | $71K | 11.8% | 4.0% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Canton, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door to Canton
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Canton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | – | B− | C+ | 37 min | $51,027 |
| Myrtle Springs | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Myrtle Springs: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of 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 Canton: questions
What is the median household income in Canton?
$51,027 (±$21,853) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Canton?
11.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Canton?
37 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Canton work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tyler (8%, 36 mi), Athens (4%, 24 mi), Terrell (3%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Canton walkable?
Canton is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around 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 Canton, from the people who make the trip.
More of 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.