Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Garden City earns an A+, ranked 17th of 745 in New York. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, the median household earns $244K, and its public schools beat 95% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.4 million, 14.1 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Garden City, where New York’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Garden City is home to Adelphi University.
Where Garden City beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Garden City | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.8% | 12.8% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Garden City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 574 in 1880, 23,272 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1897 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garden City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw18 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw17 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaYankee StadiumCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Garden City, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Garden City.
Garden City draws workers from Hempstead and beyond, has less tooth loss than most of New York and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
At 14.1 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.4M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; New Hyde Park is next at $969K.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 10% in value. 94% of households own their home in Garden City. Also worth knowing: a home in Garden City typically sold within 18 days of listing.
| Garden City | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,265 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 94% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Garden City’s trail network density is 1.3 miles per square mile. Trails run 6.7 miles in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is St. Paul's Recreation Complex, at 33 acres.
| Garden City | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. St. Paul's Recreation Complex | — | 33 |
| 2. Garden City Community Park | — | 28 |
| 3. Grove Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with New York is tooth loss: 3.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.8% statewide. Against the 476 U.S. towns with household incomes like Garden City’s, it is healthier than 79%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
The share of adults in Garden City who have been diagnosed with depression: 15%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Garden City is ahead of New York on 24 and behind on 1.
| Garden City | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.9% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Garden City | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.8% | 12.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
29,753 jobs are based in Garden City, 3.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 19,452 in 2013 to 29,753.
Most working residents leave Garden City for work: only 10% work in town. Employers in Garden City added 10,301 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 29,753. Garden City: 28% of workers work from home. For half of commuters, work is under 13 miles away.
| Garden City | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $244,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 28% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Of the losses FEMA expects in Garden City, 62% come from inland flooding and 16% from earthquakes. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 86% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Garden City after 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 8.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of New York’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 223 to 158 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Its property crime rate is 6.8 per 1,000 residents. Garden City’s violent offense rate comes in at 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Garden City | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 25°; snowfall runs to about 19 inches a winter. Expect chilly winters and warm summers in Garden City.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
29 within 15 miles of the center of Garden City
About 12 of every 100 Garden City residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Garden City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
17 notable people were born in Garden City.
Village in New York, United States
Garden City is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily within the town of Hempstead, except for a small area at the northern tip of the village that is within North Hempstead.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Garden City.
At #17 in NY, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; North Hempstead (A+) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City | #17 | A+ | D− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Hempstead | #692 | D | D | C | C− | C |
| Uniondale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Hyde Park | #54 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Garden City South | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North New Hyde Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Hempstead | #44 | A+ | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Hempstead | #118 | A | D− | — | A | A |
New Hyde Park, North Hempstead and Hempstead report no FBI crime data of their own. Uniondale, Garden City South and North New Hyde Park aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Garden City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Garden City grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #17 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
17 notable people were born here, including Telly Savalas and Kash Patel.
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