What stands out worked out from the figures below

Canaan has the most people working from home (29.2%).

Deep River has the most affordable homes ($362k median).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Canaan	Deep River
People
Population	1,175Lowest	4,458Highest
Median age	54.2±3.2Highest 32% above CT	46.2±5.6Lowest 12% above CT
	Canaan and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	14.6%±3.4Lowest CT: 20.2%	16.6%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%
	Deep River and Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	27.5%±1.9Highest CT: 18.5%	22.1%±4.1Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Canaan and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	49.8%Highest CT: 42.5%	44.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	12%±8.3Highest CT: 7.1%	3.8%±2.2Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Canaan and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$89,632±$25kLowest 6% below CT	$90,253±$19kHighest 6% below CT
	Deep River and Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$469,400±$33kHighest 28% above CT	$362,200±$26kLowest about the CT average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,830±$307Highest 23% above CT	$1,221±$185Lowest 18% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,331Highest 5% below CT	$6,092Lowest 8% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	67.1%±26Highest CT: 52.6%	58.2%±22.9Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Canaan and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	16%Highest CT: 10%	8.2%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	83.8%Highest CT: 66.5%	69.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1944Lowest 23 yrs older than CT	1974Highest 7 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	17 minLowest 37% below CT	24 minHighest 9% below CT
Work from home	29.2%±13.5Highest CT: 16%	15.2%±5.6Lowest CT: 16%
	Canaan and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	—	#70 of 149 in CT
School district	Canaan School District · Regional School District 01	Deep River School District · Regional School District 04
High school in town	Housatonic Valley Regional High School	Valley Regional High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.4Highest	9.3Lowest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

CT average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.