What stands out worked out from the figures below

North Canaan has the shortest commute (22 min average).

Sterling has the highest household income ($103k).

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	North Canaan	Sterling
People
Population	3,221Lowest	3,629Highest
Median age	35.7±5.7Lowest 13% below CT	39.4±5.9Highest 4% below CT
	Sterling and North Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	26.5%±7.6Highest CT: 20.2%	22.8%±5.9Lowest CT: 20.2%
	North Canaan and Sterling are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	14.4%±3.7Highest CT: 18.5%	13%±3.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
	North Canaan and Sterling are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	23.4%Highest CT: 42.5%	18%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.3%±3.3Lowest CT: 7.1%	3.7%±1.9Highest CT: 7.1%
	Sterling and North Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$71,976±$26kLowest 25% below CT	$102,695±$12kHighest 7% above CT
	Sterling and North Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$267,300±$59kLowest 27% below CT	$283,400±$17kHighest 23% below CT
	Sterling and North Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,146±$152 23% below CT	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,893Lowest 41% below CT	$4,551Highest 31% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	25.1%±14.3Lowest CT: 52.6%	32%±18.1Highest CT: 52.6%
	Sterling and North Canaan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	13.4%Highest CT: 10%	8.3%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	61.7%Lowest CT: 66.5%	81.1%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT	1988Highest 21 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	22 minLowest 15% below CT	35 minHighest 34% above CT
Work from home	12.1%±5.3Highest CT: 16%	11.6%±6.4Lowest CT: 16%
	North Canaan and Sterling 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	#91 of 149 in CT	#119 of 149 in CT
School district	North Canaan School District	Sterling School District
High school in town	None in town	None in town
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.