Written by Bryce Ashley, Broker
·
Home values reviewed quarterly, demographic and school data
annually. Next review: 1 December 2026
Canton is not a Peoria suburb, and this page won't pretend otherwise. It's the largest city in Fulton County, about 32 miles and a 48-minute drive from Peoria, too far for most daily commutes. It's also the most affordable market The Ashley Home Team covers, anchored by its own hospital, college, and a real economic recovery story worth knowing before you write it off.
Canton's home values run from roughly $78,700 [1] (Zillow's index) to about $114,000 (a separate 2024 estimate) depending on methodology, either figure a fraction of Chillicothe, the next most affordable town in this series at roughly $177,500. That gap is not a data error. It reflects two genuinely different markets: one inside realistic Peoria commuting range, one that isn't.
Canton's largest employer is Graham Hospital, the biggest employer in Fulton County. Alongside it: the Illinois River Correctional Center [4], a state prison; Spoon River College; and Cook Medical [4], which opened a manufacturing plant in 2010 on the former International Harvester site.
That last fact carries real history. International Harvester [5]'s plow works anchored Canton's economy for decades, in the 1950s and '60s Canton led Illinois towns in per-capita wages, car ownership, and home ownership. The plant closed in 1983, and the housing market took a real hit that shows up in the pricing above. The 30-acre site burned in a 1997 arson fire and sat leveled for years before Cook Medical's arrival in 2010 gave it a second life. A downtown facade-improvement grant restored much of the historic town square in the years since.
Worth knowing this history if you're advising a buyer: Canton's current pricing reflects a real economic transition, not a town in ongoing decline. The anchors that exist today, healthcare, corrections, higher ed, manufacturing, are stable, not speculative.
Canton Union School District 66 ranks 493rd of 813 Illinois districts with a 2-star SchoolDigger [3] rating, below state averages overall, with relatively high chronic absenteeism cited as a contributing factor. Two schools stand out within the district: Lincoln Elementary and Ingersoll Middle School each hold 3-star ratings and outperform both the district and state averages in their strongest subjects.
Same standard as the East Peoria page: if school ranking is the deciding factor, Canton is not the strongest entry in this series. If price and a genuine small-city, non-commuter lifestyle rank higher, it's worth a serious look.
Canton sits about 32 miles from Peoria via US-24 and IL-9, roughly a 48-minute drive [6]. That rules it out as a Peoria commute town for most buyers, and this page treats that as a fact to state rather than a problem to talk around. Canton works for people whose work, family, or life is centered in Fulton County itself, not for someone hoping to work in Peoria and live somewhere quieter nearby.
| Destination | Approx. drive |
|---|---|
| Downtown Peoria | ~48 min |
| Graham Hospital (in town) | local |
| Spoon River College (in town) | local |
Estimates range from about $78,700 (Zillow) to roughly $114,000 (a 2024 estimate), depending on methodology. Either way, the most affordable market The Ashley Home Team covers by a wide margin.
No. It's about 32 miles and a 48-minute drive from Peoria, the largest city in Fulton County and its own local market, not a Peoria bedroom community.
Graham Hospital (the county's largest employer), the Illinois River Correctional Center [4], Spoon River College, and Cook Medical [4], which opened in 2010 on the site of the former International Harvester plow works that closed in 1983.
Canton Union School District 66 ranks 493rd of 813 Illinois districts with a 2-star rating, below state averages. Lincoln Elementary and Ingersoll Middle School are the district's stronger schools, each 3-star rated.
That depends on your priorities, and Canton's tradeoffs are clear rather than hidden. It is the most affordable market in this series, with Zillow putting typical values near $78,700, and it is a self-contained small city, Graham Hospital, Spoon River College and Cook Medical anchor local employment [4], not a Peoria bedroom community. Against that: Canton Union School District 66 ranks 493rd of 813 Illinois districts at 2 stars, median household income is $53,254 versus $67,195 for the Peoria metro, and the population is down roughly 5% since the 2020 census [2]. At 32 miles and about a 48-minute drive [6], daily Peoria commuting is impractical. Good fit if price and small-city independence come first; weaker if school ranking is your opening filter.
The Ashley Home Team, Bryce Ashley, Illinois license 475.182580, at eXp Realty, serves Canton and the wider Fulton County market, and can be reached at 309-397-6982. Canton trades differently from the Peoria suburbs: it is its own county-seat market about 32 miles out [6], not a commuter town, so pricing comparables come from within Fulton County rather than from Peoria.
The specific spots residents mention when they describe living in Canton. Each one is sourced; none is a paid listing.
Search every active Canton listing on the MLS: current prices, recent reductions and open houses.
Search Canton listingsOpens the searchable MLS feed on eXp Realty.
