Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,029, platted in 1870. Public schools that outperform most of Iowa.
Trash & recyclingGarner gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $229K, 3.2 years of the county’s $71K median household income. It grades A− overall, ranked 34th of 140 in Iowa. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 92% of Iowa towns. Garner’s average trip to work is 11 minutes, against 19 minutes in Iowa’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Only 27 of Iowa’s 276 towns score lower on the outdoors. Garner has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Hancock County Courthouse.
Where Garner beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Elementary School | PK–4 | 381 |
| Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Middle School | 5–8 | 255 |
| Garner-Hayfield-Ventura High School | 9–12 | 295 |
Hancock County CourthouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Garner is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 321 in 1880, 3,065 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1972 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Garner, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Garner.
Garner pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and has commutes shorter than most of Iowa, but it has little public open land.
Its A for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $229K.
Its public schools are run by the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Community School District. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 381 | B+ |
| Garner-Hayfield-Ventura High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 295 | B+ |
| Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 255 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
30% of residents are 65 or older in Garner. Only 7 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher median age than Garner. 19% of residents are under 18 in Garner.
| Garner | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 30% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 47 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Garner | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.2% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.6% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.4% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.8% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.5% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 18.4% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.7% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.1% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
Garner has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Garner is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,455 working residents takes 11 minutes, against 19.8 across Iowa.
About one in 3 of Garner’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Garner has added 242 jobs, to 1,856 in 2023. The top destinations are Mason City (12%), Forest City (9%) and Clear Lake (7%).
| Garner | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Garner beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 42% of Garner adults have obesity.
| Garner | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Garner | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.9% | 3.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Garner’s median rent is $740 a month. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Garner | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $740 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Just 7 of its 1,351 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Garner itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
Among 139 Iowa towns, just 3 have a lower share of conserved land than Garner.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garner Central Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Garner
About 3 of every 100 Garner residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
2 places in Garner on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Iowa, USA
Garner is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,065 in the 2020 census, an increase from 2,922 in 2000.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Garner grades A− overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #34 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C+ for health and A for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
Garner was platted in 1870 and has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including Alvin Baldus and Vin Schleusner.
