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Canton, Ohio

Canton is a small city of about 69,000 people in Stark County, Ohio. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Cleveland, is about 49 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
69,001
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$97,800
Stark County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$43,188
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Canton area
89.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mercy Medical Center
To Cleveland
49 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.6% below the U.S. average in the Canton-Massillon metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood751 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 10.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 33.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town39 public schools: 23 elementary, 8 middle, 7 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMercy Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCleveland is about 49 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
$97,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Stark County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$850 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$43,188U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,227 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
41%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.4U.S. average = 100 (the Canton-Massillon metro area)

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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Canton-Massillon metro area, 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
69,0012020: 70,575
Median age
35.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (23%); manufacturing (18%); retail (14%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Medical Center, Canton, OH, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

39 public schools in Canton, run by Canton City and Plain Local.

Colleges in or next to town: Malone University (1,000 to 4,999 students); Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Ohio'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
67%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
80%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
20°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
120 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.9 inches a year
Snow
32 inches a year
Elevation
1,069 feet

Weather stations: Akron Canton Rgnl Ap (8 miles away) and Louisville (6 miles away, rain and snow). 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

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: Akron, Cleveland.

Stark County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

44 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including William McKinley Tomb, the Hercules Motors Corporation Industrial Complex, the Ridgewood Historic District and Upper Downtown Canton Historic District (Additional Documentation). One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • First Ladies National Historic Site1 mile
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park21 miles
  • James A. Garfield National Historic Site59 miles

Campus life. Check Malone University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

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

Smaller places

  • Meyers Lake, OH718 people, 3 miles
  • Hills and Dales, OH246 people, 4 miles
  • North Industry, OH (unincorporated)1,767 people, 5 miles
  • Middlebranch, OH (unincorporated)2,361 people, 6 miles
  • Harrisburg, OH (unincorporated)253 people, 9 miles
  • Robertsville, OH (unincorporated)386 people, 10 miles
  • East Sparta, OH744 people, 10 miles
  • Sandyville, OH (unincorporated)119 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.