Work & commute · New Canaan

Work & commute in New Canaan, CT

Most working residents leave New Canaan for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are New York (21%), Stamford (14%) and Norwalk (6%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

953 of 7,082 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

38 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

35%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,129 New Canaan residents head out of town to work, 953 work right here, and 5,482 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in New Canaan.

6,129live here, work elsewhere

953live and work here

5,482work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where New Canaan goes to work

New York, NY41.3 mi away

21%1,465

Stamford6.1 mi away

14%971

New Canaan (in town)right here

13%953

Norwalk6.3 mi away

6%448

Greenwich10.6 mi away

6%416

Darien7.6 mi away

2%161

Westport8.6 mi away

2%149

Wilton4.6 mi away

2%129

Danbury16.5 mi away

2%114

Fairfield11.9 mi away

1%106

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%2,170

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far New Canaan commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

42%

21%

28%

42%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

New Canaan is balanced between jobs and homes

0.91jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in New Canaan are

6,435 jobs are based in New Canaan. Here is what they are, next to the jobs New Canaan’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in New Canaan

6,435 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs New Canaan residents hold

7,082 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month78%

+8%

Jobs based in New Canaan, 2013 → 2023: 5,948 → 6,435. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.