Gardner ranks #9 in Kansas for affordable rent
Gardner is ranked on 37 lists against the 158 Kansas towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 9.
Fewer seniors than 97% of Kansas
Not better or worse, just Gardner’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Gardner does best on
Each list ranks every KS town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Gardner marked.
1 spot from the top 10 for new homes
Lists where Gardner sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Gardner lands in the top half on 17 of 23 lists
Each dot is Gardner’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in KS, the right end is last. Areas where Gardner does best come first.
Gardner out-ranks 0 of its 2 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Gardner lands in every KS ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Housing
L Vacation-home towns#1 Lincoln · 11.7% #71
Most new homes#1 Maize · 31.5 per 1,000
#11
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Garnett · +85.9%
#62
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Edwardsville · 15.1 per home
#8 
Health
Healthiest#1 Fairway · 98 / 100
#41
F
Lowest obesity#1 Fort Riley · 25%
#29
Fewest smokers#1 Mission Hills · 7%
#53
Most active#1 Fairway · 15%
#45
Fewest uninsured#1 Mission Hills · 4%
#69
Lowest depression#1 Leawood · 17%
#34
Closest to a top hospital#1 Winfield · 0.2 mi
#40 Safety
Safest#1 Ulysses · 5.6
#19 
People
Most educated#1 Mission Hills · 87.3%
#72
Youngest#1 Sherlock · 22.5
#19
M
Oldest#1 Monmouth · 54.0
#140
Most residents 65+#1 Minneha · 29.6%
#152
Most kids#1 Sherlock · 45.8%
#11 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Oaklawn-Sunview · 0.7 yrs
#135
Cheapest rent#1 Prospect · $538/mo
#133
Lowest property tax#1 Oaklawn-Sunview · $701/yr
#112
Rent easiest to afford#1 Dodge City · 27.6%
#9 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Winfield · 34.9%
#65
Most trails#1 Iola · 2.4 mi / sq mi
#84
Most walkable#1 Roeland Park · 169 / sq mi
#88 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Norton · 7.4 min
#114 
The number on the right is Gardner’s spot. All of Kansas’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every KS list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.