Work & commute · Canton

Work & commute in Canton, NY

About one in 3 of Canton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Potsdam (12%), Ogdensburg (5%) and De Kalb (2%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

1,302 of 3,346 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,044 Canton residents head out of town to work, 1,302 work right here, and 4,589 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Canton.

2,044live here, work elsewhere

1,302live and work here

4,589work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Canton goes to work

Canton (in town)right here

39%1,302

Potsdam11.4 mi away

12%390

Ogdensburg15.6 mi away

5%155

De Kalb10.2 mi away

2%74

Massena32.5 mi away

2%62

Albany149.6 mi away

2%61

New York277.9 mi away

2%61

Watertown54.1 mi away

2%60

Syracuse115.7 mi away

2%59

Gouverneur20.5 mi away

2%54

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%1,068

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

How far

How far Canton commutes

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

45%

21%

28%

45%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Canton is a job hub

1.76jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Canton are

5,891 jobs are based in Canton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Canton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Canton

5,891 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)91%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Canton residents hold

3,346 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+21%

Jobs based in Canton, 2013 → 2023: 4,883 → 5,891. 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.