Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,694, platted in 1875.
Garrett gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $193K, 2.6 years of the Auburn area’s $74K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 341st of 585 in Indiana. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Its National Register listings include Mountz House and Keyser Township School 8. Garrett’s average trip to work is 20 minutes, below both Indiana’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Where Garrett beats most towns.
Mountz HouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Garrett is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,268 in 1880, 6,542 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 4 maps from 1957 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Garrett, 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 Garrett.
Garrett trades workers with Fort Wayne and other neighbors and has property taxes about half the Indiana norm.
Garrett beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 44% of adults have obesity in Garrett.
| Garrett | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 39% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Garrett | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $788, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026. Garrett’s median rent is $858 a month.
| Garrett | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $858 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Garrett has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Garrett has about as many jobs (3,106) as working residents, but only 545 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Garrett for work: only 16% work in town. 15% of Garrett residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Garrett grew to 3,106 in 2023, 646 more than in 2013.
| Garrett | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Garrett | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Side Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Union Street Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garrett. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumAuburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum
17 mi Zoo & aquariumFort Wayne Children's Zoo23 mi Theme parkFun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo
19 mi MuseumFort Wayne Museum of Art
19 mi GardenFoellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory
38 mi MuseumUnited States Vice Presidential MuseumAuburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum: Michael Walter, a.k.a. Cuppysfriend, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Wayne Children's Zoo: Momoneymoproblemz, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Wayne Museum of Art: Momoneymoproblemz, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United States Vice Presidential Museum: Pilcrow, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Garrett
About 3 of every 100 Garrett residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
6 places in Garrett on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Garrett.
City in Indiana, United States
Garrett is a city in Keyser Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Garrett had a population of 6,542.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Garrett.
Garrett reports no FBI crime data of its own. Altona isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Garrett with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Garrett grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #341 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C for health and B− 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.
3 notable people were born here, including John Bowers and Louis William Tordella.
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