City · Cass County, Missouri

Garden City, Missouri

Garden City is a city in Cass County, Missouri, part of the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area. It has 1,742 residents. Garden City, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 49 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,961 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #145 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on new business applications (high), mental health care shortage (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), grocery stores (low) and primary care physicians (low).

49Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,961 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #145 of 375 in MO
Population: 1,742 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 704.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2926434

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety46#8,408/15,637
Economy66#5,290/15,631
Housing88#1,814/14,977
Health33#10,516/15,609
Healthcare43#8,988/15,650
Environment74#4,090/15,453
Education39#9,472/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,198/15,650
Community69#4,841/15,651
Leisure & amenities7#14,582/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Garden City, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cass County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

New business applications · high39.7 /1k
99/100Missouri 16.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCass County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Missouri 13.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationCass County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low113 min
91/100Missouri 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCass County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationCass County value
Loneliness · low30.4%
90/100Missouri 32.5%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Job growth · high2.1%
89/100Missouri 0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCass County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low8.6%
5/100Missouri 32.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Missouri 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCass County value
Primary care physicians · low25 /100k
8/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCass County value
Broadband subscriptions · low84.6%
10/100Missouri 89.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.1 /10k
12/100Missouri 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCass County value
Average weekly wage · low$965
13/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCass County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,345 (2015-2019) → 1,742 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.0% (2015-2019) → 84.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
4.0 /1k (2021) → 1.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−57%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
31.4% (2015-2019) → 38.8% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
11.2% (2015-2019) → 5.0% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Garden City, Missouri improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Poverty−6.2 points11.2% → 5.0%
Broadband+14 points71.0% → 84.6%
Household income+25%$52,333 → $65,260

Declined1

Price / income+0.7×2.0× → 2.7×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Garden City, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.9 min2015-2019	28.2 min2020-2024	−1.7 min	Within the margin of error	68%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.0%2015-2019	8.7%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	71.0%2015-2019	84.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Effective property tax rate	0.97%2015-2019	0.84%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
High school diploma or higher	86.0%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3692015-2019	0.3852020-2024	+0.016	Within the margin of error	37%
Median household income	$52,3332015-2019	$65,2602020-2024	+25%	Improved	43%
Poverty rate	11.2%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	−6.2 points	Improved	85%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.6%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	31.4%2015-2019	38.8%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.3%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Garden City, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Garden City, Missouri in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Garden City, Missouri itself moved −4.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,742 residents (±300)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (−5.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,742 residents (±300)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

White88%1,541
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino2.8%†48

Education

1,144 residents (±200)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

No high school diploma11%†123
High school or GED52%593
Some college25%289

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

675 households (±113)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k13%†91
$25k–50k28%†186
$50k–75k16%†109
$75k–100k19%†125
$100k–150k18%†123
$150k–200k4.6%†31
$200k or more1.5%†10

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−12.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

675 households (±113)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Own63%422
Rent37%†253

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

249 households (±90)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $75023%†58
$750–1,00033%†83
$1,000–1,50043%†108

Home values

422 homes (±90)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $150k32%†136
$150k–250k52%218
$250k–400k13%†53

Age of homes

771 homes (±108)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

2010 or later2.6%†20
2000–200921%†161
1980–199934%261

Size of homes

771 homes (±108)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Studio1.3%†10
1 bedroom12%†94
2 bedrooms24%†185

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

805 workers (±142)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone81%649
Carpool13%†102
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.7%†54
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−10.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

751 workers (±140)

Garden City, Missouri
Missouri share

Under 15 min17%†124
15–29 min38%†282
30–44 min21%†157

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Kansas City, MO-KS

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Cass County, the county holding most of Garden City's residents.

Cass County has 2,148 employer establishments, 192 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Missouri's), with 23,604 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,686. The Census Bureau also counts 9,036 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,148; 9,036 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 192; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 23,604
Average annual pay: $46,686; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Cass County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	265	23.7	1.53×More than typical	1,672	$60,817	858
Restaurants and other eating places	153	13.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	3,175	$20,343	25
Ambulatory health care services	137	12.3	0.59×Fewer than typical	1,214	$64,555	239
Services to buildings and dwellings	102	9.1	1.35×More than typical	590	$42,649	532
Lessors of real estate	101	9	0.73×Fewer than typical	200	$41,080	1,003
Construction of buildings	92	8.2	1.09×About typical	372	$59,296	338
Building equipment contractors	84	7.5	1.25×About typical	495	$63,865	130
Religious organizations	77	6.9	1.24×About typical	466	$24,157	—
Limited-service restaurants	73	6.5	0.81×About typical	1,644	$19,263	15
Other specialty trade contractors	66	5.9	2.35×More than typical	554	$72,653	276
Landscaping services	64	5.7	1.64×More than typical	368	$46,677	229
Offices of other health practitioners	64	5.7	0.94×About typical	595	$52,398	121

Rank places for an industry Open Cass County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 111,737 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4,051 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Garden City, Missouri: $2.33 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $4,051; +40% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.33; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$4,051100%

Top recipients

ROCK JV, LLC$4,051100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

48.8KFY2023
7.6KFY2024
2.9KFY2025
4.1KFY2026

What was bought

Equipment maintenance$4,051100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$4,051100.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Garden City, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

Garden City, Missouri's figures are part of those of Cass County, MO ($3.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Garden City is mostly in Cass County.

See federal money in Cass County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Garden City, Missouri is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mark AlfordR-MO-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Cass County71100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kansas City, MO-KS73

Other cities and towns in Cass County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2926434