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Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text

Canton - People Snapshot (PDF) pdf file

Maps & Planning · Date unavailable · Record 794d3c2b7f2c167f4e

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Saved text from 1 source pages. Transcription and OCR may contain errors; verify figures and wording against the original. Retrieved 2026-10-15.

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P E O P L E
 Who lives in Canton?                                                                                                                                         Households
 Age                                                                                                                                                              Total households
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        2000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       7,949
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2016
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  8,918

                                                                                      Westwood
                                                                                                                                                                  Family households                                     79%                        68%
19 years and younger (25%)
                                                                                      Stoughton
                                                                                                                                                                  Average household size                                2.56                       2.49
           20-34 years (15%)                                                            Sharon

           35-54 years (30%)                                                          Randolph                                                                    Average family size                                   3.12                       3.17
                                                                                       Dedham
           55-64 years (13%)                                                                                                                                      Source: 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
                                                                                        Canton
           65-84 years (14%)
                                                                                                                                                              Household Income
                                                                                Norfolk County
    85 years and older (3%)                                                            Norwood

                                                                                Massachusetts                                                                       Median Household Income                                                     Median Family Income
                                                                                         Milton

                                                                                                  34      36       38       40         42    44      46
                                                                                                                                                                      Randolph                         $65,316                                 Randolph                       $79,949

                                                                       The median age in Canton is 42 years, an                                                       Stoughton                        $75,109                                 Stoughton                      $93,357
 Source: 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
                                                                       increase of 2.2 years since 2000.                                                               Norwood                         $83,883                                 Norwood                        $107,097
                                                                                                                                                                       Dedham                          $87,108                                 Dedham                         $115,379

Education                                                                                                                                                               Canton                         $93,672                                  Canton                        $123,250
                                                                                                                                                                         Milton                       $122,516                                  Sharon                        $139,145
                                      100%                                                                                                                              Sharon                        $127,500                                   Milton                       $139,596
 2/3 of Canton                                                                                                                                                        Westwood                        $140,355                                Westwood                        $161,113
 residents 25                                                                                          28%
                                        80%                                                                                      36%
 years and                                                     48%                         46%
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Source: 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
                                                   55%
 older have an                                                               62%                       10%                                                      Breakout of Median Income
                                                                                                                                            68%
 associates degree                      60%
                                                                                                                   73%
                                                                                                                                 10%
 or higher.                                                                                            18%                                                                                                                                           % of Total
                                                                7%                         8%                                                                                                                                    Estimate           Households
                                                                                                                                 19%
                                        40%         8%
                                                               15%
                                                                              6%
                                                                                           15%                                                                 Households                                                              8,750                        -
                                                   17%                                                 29%                                  6%                 Households with Extremely Low Income
                                                                             13%                                    5%                                                                                                                 1,130                    12.9%         Nearly 2/3 of Canton
                                        20%                                                                                      26%        9%                 (<= 30% HAMFI)
                                                               24%                         25%                     11%                                                                                                                                                        households had
                                                                                                                                                               Households with Very Low Income
                                                   17%                       15%                                                            13%                                                                                          600                     6.9%         incomes less than
                                                                                                       15%          8%                                         (> 30% <= 50% HAMFI)
                                                                6%            4%           6%                                    9%                                                                                                                                           80% of the area
                                         0%         3%                                                              3%                      3%                 Households with Low Income
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       1,125                    12.9%         median income.
                                                   Canton     Dedham         Milton     Norwood Randolph           Sharon   Stoughton Westwood                 (> 50% <= 80% HAMFI)
                                                                                                                                                               Households with Moderate Income
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         755                     8.6%
                                             Less than high school diploma      High school grad (or equivalent)    Some college                               (> 80% <= 100% HAMFI)
                                             Associates degree                  Bachelors degree or higher
                                                                                                                                                               Households with Upper Income
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       5,135                    58.7%
                                              Source: 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates                                                          (> 100% HAMFI)
                                                                                                                                                               HAMFI is calculated by the US Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is
                                                                                                                                                               the median family income calculated by HUD for each jurisdiction, in order to determine Fair

 Race and Ethnicity
                                                                                                                                                               Market Rents (FMRs) and income limits for HUD programs. HAMFI will not necessarily be the
                                                                                                                                                               same as other calculations of median incomes (such as a simple Census number), due to a series
                                                                                                                                                               of adjustments that are made. For Massachusetts, the HAMFI in 2015 was $87,300.
                                                                                                                                                               HUD Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) program data based on 2015
                                                                                                                       Change
                                                                                                                                                               American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (most current available).
                                                                  2000                2010             2016         2000-2016
  One race                                                       99.1%                98.3%            97.5%                     7%
       White                                                     92.5%                84.8%            83.7%                     -2%                          Poverty in Canton
       Black or African American                                     2.9%              6.3%             5.9%                123%                              Based on federal poverty level
       American Indian and Alaska Native                             0.1%              0.1%             0.0%                -100%                                        % of Households Living in Poverty                                         % of Families Living in Poverty
       Asian                                                         3.0%              6.1%             6.9%                147%
       Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific
                                                                     0.0%              0.0%             0.0%                120%
       Islander
       Some other race                                               0.5%              1.0%             1.0%                122%
  Two or more races                                               0.9%                 1.7%            2.5%                 183%
  Hispanic or Latino (of any race)                                  1%                   3%              4%                 205%
 Source: 2000 and 2010 US Census, 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates


 Most Canton residents still identify themselves as one race, and predominately
 white. While Hispanic and Latino, Black and African American, and Asian
 communities continue to grow slowly as a percentage of the total town
 population, they have more than doubled from 2000 to 2016.
                                                                                                                                                                                                        Source: 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates




 How might we change?                                                                                                                            Projections made by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) showed
                                                                                                                                                 Canton growing about 10% every 10 years. The Donahue Institute of UMASS
                                                                                                                                                 made higher projections. Actual growth is somewhere in between these
Population Projections                                                                                                                           scenarios.

     29,000                                                                                                                                                         6,000

                                                                                                                                  27,073
     27,000                                                                                                    26,272                                               5,000
                                                                                                   25,299
     25,000                                                                    24,225                                                                               4,000
                                                                                                                    23,641
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               It is projected that
                                                                                      22,453                                                                                                                                                                                   the population will
     23,000                                                            22,562
                                              21,561                                                                                                                3,000                                                                                                      continue to get
                                                                                                                        22,849
                                                                                      22,075                                                                                                                                                                                   older.
     21,000
                    20,775                                                                                                                                          2,000

     19,000
                                                                                                                                                                    1,000

     17,000
                                                                                                                                                                         -
                                                                                                                                                                                   19 and            20-34            35-49            50-64            65-84       85 and older
     15,000                                                                                                                                                                       younger
               2000            2005           2010            2015              2020               2025        2030                2035                                                                  2000        2010        2020 (projected)          2030 (projected)
                                                                       Year
                                   MAPC Status Quo Scenario             MAPC Stronger Region Scenario                                                                                Source: 2000 and 2010 US Census, 2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, and MAPC (2014)

                                   US Census/ACS                        UMASS/Donahue Institute