What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

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

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	Deep River	Canaan
People
Population	4,458Highest	1,175Lowest
Median age	46.2±5.6Lowest 12% above CT	54.2±3.2Highest 32% 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	16.6%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%	14.6%±3.4Lowest 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+	22.1%±4.1Lowest CT: 18.5%	27.5%±1.9Highest 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+	44.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%	49.8%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.8%±2.2Lowest CT: 7.1%	12%±8.3Highest 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	$90,253±$19kHighest 6% below CT	$89,632±$25kLowest 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	$362,200±$26kLowest about the CT average	$469,400±$33kHighest 28% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,221±$185Lowest 18% below CT	$1,830±$307Highest 23% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,092Lowest 8% below CT	$6,331Highest 5% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	58.2%±22.9Lowest CT: 52.6%	67.1%±26Highest 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	8.2%Lowest CT: 10%	16%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	69.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%	83.8%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Highest 7 yrs newer than CT	1944Lowest 23 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minHighest 9% below CT	17 minLowest 37% below CT
Work from home	15.2%±5.6Lowest CT: 16%	29.2%±13.5Highest 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	Deep River School District · Regional School District 04	Canaan School District · Regional School District 01
High school in town	Valley Regional High School	Housatonic Valley Regional High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.3Lowest	9.4Highest
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.