Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Work, pay and getting to work in Canaan
About one in seven work in Canaan; the top destination outside it is Colebrook (18%, 11 miles). Commuters spend 20 minutes getting to work on average, where Vermont has 24 and the U.S. 26. Canaan has 261 jobs, and 261 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Canaan apart on work
Many Canaan workers cross into New Hampshire
52% of Canaan workers work outside Vermont, most of them in New Hampshire, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Canaan and Colebrook trade workers both ways
Colebrook is the top workplace for Canaan residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Canaan come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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; with 261 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Canaan to work: where people go
Where Canaan clocks in
18% of workers
8% of workers
5% 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.
A workday in Canaan: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 226 residents head out to work, 35 work right here, and 226 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Goods jobs make up 51% of work in Canaan
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Canaan, 2013 → 2023: 286 → 261. 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 Canaan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Canaan’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Canaan workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 351 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% 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.
How far Canaan’s workers travel
About 27% 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.
Canaan and its neighbors: 29% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Canaan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan | – | — | — | 20 min | $55,606 |
| Lemington | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lemington: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Colebrook. Darker towns draw more of Canaan’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 Canaan: questions
What is the median household income in Canaan?
$55,606 (±$3,733) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Canaan?
10.4%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Canaan?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Canaan work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colebrook (18%, 11 mi), Stewartstown (8%, 10 mi), Brighton (5%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Canaan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Canaan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Canaan
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.