Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety81#2,962/15,637
Economy17#13,037/15,631
Housing32#10,186/14,977
Health46#8,408/15,609
Healthcare43#8,932/15,650
Environment89#1,772/15,453
Education79#3,344/15,649
Infrastructure77#3,553/15,650
Community21#12,409/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,562/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Canton, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Lawrence County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low2 days
94/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Lawrence County value
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100New York 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Lawrence County value
Students per teacher · low11.2×
92/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSt. Lawrence County value
Public libraries · high2.0 /10k
91/100New York 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSt. Lawrence County value
Average commute time · low13.1 min
91/100New York 32.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.9 µg/m³
90/100New York 7.2 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Lawrence County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low5.8 /1k
0/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSt. Lawrence County value
Effective property tax rate · high2.72%
1/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Comfortable days · low22.1%
4/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Lawrence County value
Child care cost burden · high42.4%
4/100New York 37.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Lawrence County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100New York 3.7United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. Lawrence County value
Voter turnout · low53.0%
7/100New York 59.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSt. Lawrence County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
6,505 (2015-2019) → 7,167 (2020-2024)
+10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
0.1 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.7% (2015-2019) → 93.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.2% (2015-2019) → 36.6% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
15.6% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
16.2% (2015-2019) → 19.8% (2020-2024)
+3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Canton, New York improved on 0 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Canton, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.4 min2015-2019	13.1 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	50%
Bachelor's degree or higher	54.5%2015-2019	53.9%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	83.7%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Effective property tax rate	2.64%2015-2019	2.72%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	95.9%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	65%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4442015-2019	0.4782020-2024	+0.034	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$62,2662015-2019	$62,0542020-2024	−0.3%	Within the margin of error	7%
Poverty rate	16.2%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent as share of income	27.2%2015-2019	27.8%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent-burdened households	44.2%2015-2019	36.6%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.0%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	36%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Canton, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Canton, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Canton, New York itself moved −2.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

7,167 residents (±15)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29
10–19
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (+2.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

7,167 residents (±15)

Canton, New York
New York share

White84%6,015
Black5.6%†400
Hispanic or Latino4.5%†326

Education

2,888 residents (±255)

Canton, New York
New York share

No high school diploma5.6%†162
High school or GED17%†477
Some college6.0%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,029 households (±200)

Canton, New York
New York share

Under $25k34%†686
$25k–50k9.2%†186
$50k–75k14%†275
$75k–100k19%†381
$100k–150k7.3%†149
$150k–200k14%†274
$200k or more3.8%†78

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (−14.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,029 households (±200)

Canton, New York
New York share

Own46%938
Rent54%1,091

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,091 households (±293)

Canton, New York
New York share

Under $75040%†440
$750–1,00028%†307
$1,000–1,50010%†114

Home values

938 homes (±164)

Canton, New York
New York share

Under $150k27%†255
$150k–250k46%†429
$250k–400k20%†191

Age of homes

2,153 homes (±200)

Canton, New York
New York share

2010 or later6.3%†135
2000–20096.2%†134
1980–199917%†357

Size of homes

2,153 homes (±200)

Canton, New York
New York share

Studio2.0%†44
1 bedroom23%†495
2 bedrooms27%588

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,794 workers (±302)

Canton, New York
New York share

Drive alone50%1,398
Carpool9.2%†258
Public transit0.3%†7
Walk23%654
Bike0.6%†16
Work from home16%†454
Other0.3%†7

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (−18.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

2,340 workers (±340)

Canton, New York
New York share

Under 15 min71%1,650
15–29 min20%†457
30–44 min6.5%†152

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Massena-Ogdensburg, NY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of St. Lawrence County, the county holding most of Canton's residents.

St. Lawrence County has 1,826 employer establishments, 171 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.63× New York's), with 26,395 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,552. The Census Bureau also counts 5,014 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,826; 5,014 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 171; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 26,395
Average annual pay: $54,552; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of St. Lawrence County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	162	15.2	0.83×About typical	2,072	$20,350	12
Ambulatory health care services	124	11.6	0.56×Fewer than typical	1,149	$56,866	232
Specialty trade contractors	102	9.6	0.62×Fewer than typical	804	$71,260	348
Construction of buildings	82	7.7	1.02×About typical	424	$66,375	166
Full-service restaurants	78	7.3	0.95×About typical	876	$19,598	3
Limited-service restaurants	61	5.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,036	$20,561	4
Religious organizations	55	5.2	0.93×About typical	290	$22,103	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	50	4.7	0.93×About typical	187	$39,524	85
Lessors of real estate	43	4	0.33×Fewer than typical	99	$39,222	429
Offices of physicians	43	4	0.62×Fewer than typical	250	$68,004	52
Gasoline stations	42	3.9	1.22×About typical	541	$29,349	3
Banks and credit unions	37	3.5	1.07×About typical	539	$53,909	—

Rank places for an industry Open St. Lawrence County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 106,607 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1,934 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Canton, New York: $0.27 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,934; −2.7% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.27; US $1,994
Sole-source: 37%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$1,934100%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2.1KFY2017
4.6KFY2018
751.1FY2019
1.1KFY2020
5.5KFY2021
1.1KFY2022
1.6KFY2023
8.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$1,47576%
Waste collection · 5621$45924%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Canton, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Canton, New York's figures are part of those of St. Lawrence County, NY ($20.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Canton is mostly in St. Lawrence County.

See federal money in St. Lawrence County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Canton, New York is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Elise M. StefanikR-NY-21 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 16.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

St. Lawrence County58100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Massena-Ogdensburg, NY48

Other cities and towns in St. Lawrence County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3612331

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends