Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,713.
Garden Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $147K, 2.4 years of the Joplin metro’s $62K median household income. It grades C− overall, 127th among Kansas's 150 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 84% of the state's and residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, the median household earns $86K. Only 25 of Kansas’ 372 towns score lower on walkability. Williams' Store is on the National Register of Historic Places.
3,045 counted in 2010 and 2,731 in 2020; an estimated 2,713 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Garden Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1925 and 4 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Garden Township, 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 Garden Township.
Garden Township has milder winter nights than almost anywhere else in Kansas and sends many workers across the state line, but it trails Baxter Springs and its other neighbors on schools.
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, Baxter Springs highest at B.
Its public schools are run by the Riverton school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverton ElemLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 313 | B− |
| Riverton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 218 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
44% of Garden Township adults have obesity, against 37% in Kansas’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Garden Township. Garden Township beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17.
| Garden Township | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Garden Township | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.6% | 11.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6.7% |
| More smokers | 19.4% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
58% of working residents cross a state line to work. Garden Township has 323 jobs for its 1,126 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Garden Township for work: only 4% work in town. 4.2% of Garden Township residents live below the poverty line, where Kansas’ towns sit at 9.2% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Garden Township’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Garden Township | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 25.5°, the #2 highest of 1,996 Kansas places with climate records; July afternoons average 90.6°.
Garden Township has chilly winters and warm summers. Of the 151 Kansas towns we compare, none has a higher January low than Garden Township. The July high in Garden Township is 91°F.
| Garden Township | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 26°F | 21°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 5 of its 18,940 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Garden Township itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Shoal Creek Wildlife Area, at 36 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shoal Creek Wildlife Area | — | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Garden Township
About 5 of every 100 Garden Township residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
Where Garden Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Kansas, United States
Garden Township is a township in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,731.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Garden Township.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Township | #127 | C− | B+ | — | C− | C− |
| Galena | #114 | C | A+ | C− | C+ | C− |
| Spring Valley Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | D |
| Baxter Springs | #117 | C− | A− | C+ | B | D− |
| Lowell Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Riverton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Spring Valley Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Garden Township and Spring Valley Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Lowell Township and Riverton aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Garden Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Garden Township grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #127 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C− for health and C− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
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 B+.