Population
3,060 residents
Census ACS 2023 - South Dakota
City profile · South Dakota · Census ACS 2023
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Canton - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
Canton - the verdict
Nationally, Canton sits in the 44th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
South Dakota's Canton is a small town, with 3,060 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Canton brings in $65,500 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.3%. Typical homes in Canton are valued around $191,000, and the median resident age is 43.1 years. 19.5% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 64.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 7 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 600% from five years earlier. The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 45.7°F with 27.8 inches of precipitation per year and 36.1 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in South Dakota run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, South Dakota scores 88.6 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,156 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts South Dakota's average monthly utility costs around $200 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 63.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
Population
3,060 residents
Census ACS 2023 - South Dakota
Median Household Income
$65,500 /yr
Poverty 2.3%
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Well Below Average - BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
Here's how Canton stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
For each metric we count every US city with population 1,000+ and a non-null value, then compute what share of them fall below Canton's value: round(cities-below ÷ total × 100). Safety is inverted (percentile = share of cities with a higher crime rate) so a higher number always means safer. The in-state rank narrows that same crime-rate comparison to only the cities PlainCities tracks in South Dakota, breaking ties alphabetically. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
44th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Canton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$191,000 Among the most affordable more affordable than 60% of 15,600 US cities
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
| Year | Total |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 |
Permit volume increased 600% from 2019 to 2024.
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Based on 1,560 workers 16 and over.
State-average estimates for South Dakota - EIA 2023 residential energy data
Estimates reflect South Dakota state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Cost of living is a South Dakota state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Canton sits in
Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Canton's 3,060 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).
Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Canton's $65,500 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).
City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.
Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
| City | Population | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| Canton (this city) | 3,060 | $65,500 |
| North Sioux City | 3,018 | $76,481 |
| Lead | 2,997 | $57,348 |
| Summerset | 2,978 | $115,197 |
3,060 people live in Canton, SD according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
Canton households earn a median of $65,500 annually, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Canton; the closest available measure is the South Dakota state average, a cost of living index of 88.6 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Well Below Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within South Dakota vary by metro area.
The median home value in Canton is $191,000, according to Census ACS 2023 estimates.
The average annual temperature in Canton runs 45.7°F, 27.8 inches of precipitation, and 36.1 inches of snowfall per year. Source: NOAA Climate Normals.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.