What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Plainfield has the most affordable homes ($272k 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	Plainfield
People
Population	1,175Lowest	15,141Highest
Median age	54.2±3.2Highest 32% above CT	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT
Kids under 18	14.6%±3.4Lowest CT: 20.2%	19.4%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%
	Plainfield 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%	16.6%±2.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	49.8%Highest CT: 42.5%	15%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	12%±8.3Highest CT: 7.1%	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Canaan and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$89,632±$25kHighest 6% below CT	$76,993±$8kLowest 20% below CT
	Canaan and Plainfield 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	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,830±$307Highest 23% above CT	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,331Highest 5% below CT	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	67.1%±26Highest CT: 52.6%	39.8%±9.5Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Canaan and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	16%Highest CT: 10%	8.7%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	83.8%Highest CT: 66.5%	73.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1944Lowest 23 yrs older than CT	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	17 minLowest 37% below CT	27 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	29.2%±13.5Highest CT: 16%	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	—	#131 of 149 in CT
School district	Canaan School District · Regional School District 01	Plainfield School District
High school in town	Housatonic Valley Regional High School	Plainfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.4Lowest	10.3Highest
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.