Living in Canton, Maine: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Maine outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Canton to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Canton itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Spruce Mountain High School, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byMainehealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 153 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Canton meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $165,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 25%Oxford County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $485 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 81%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,277 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940: 28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 15%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Maine outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Canton alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,1232020: 1,128
Median age: 41.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 28%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (24%); professional and business services (13%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mainehealth Franklin Hospital, Farmington, ME, about 11 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, ME, about 27 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Canton itself. The nearest public high school is Spruce Mountain High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Maine's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 6°F
July average high: 80°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 5 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 180 a year
Rain and melted snow: 47.2 inches a year
Snow: 91 inches a year
Elevation: 608 feet

Weather station: Livermore Falls 1 E (7 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Mainehealth Franklin HospitalEmergency room11

Portland, MECity of 70,00059

Boston, MAMetro of 5 million153

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Mainehealth Franklin Hospital, Portland, Boston.

Oxford County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail28 miles
Frances Perkins National Monument49 miles

Read about Canton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Canton?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Jay, ME4,600 people, 5 miles
Dixfield, ME2,400 people, 6 miles
Livermore, ME2,200 people, 7 miles
Hartford, ME1,300 people, 7 miles
Peru, ME1,500 people, 8 miles
Livermore Falls, ME3,200 people, 8 miles

Smaller places

Carthage, ME509 people, 9 miles
Temple, ME549 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.