Best PlacesGarden City, Cranston, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Garden City, Cranston, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Garden City, Cranston ranks 3,001st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Garden City, Cranston
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Garden City, Cranston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Garden City, Cranston ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Garden City, Cranston ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Garden City, Cranston
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Garden City, Cranston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,695, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Garden City, Cranston's effective rate of 1.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Garden City, Cranston
Garden City, Cranston runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Garden City, Cranston.
Who works in Garden City, Cranston, and how
Work in Garden City, Cranston centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Garden City, Cranston
The coast is about 29 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Garden City, Cranston, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Garden City, Cranston, month by month
Garden City, Cranston sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Garden City, Cranston
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around Garden City, Cranston
Schools across Garden City, Cranston average a D+, better than 19% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Woodridge SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Garden City SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Daniel D. Waterman SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Western Hills Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Park View Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Nel/cps Construction CareerF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Garden City, Cranston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Garden City, Cranston measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Garden City, Cranston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Garden City, Cranston
Is Garden City, Cranston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Garden City, Cranston ranks 3,001st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on few empty homes, health care access, and low crime, and lowest on state finances and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Garden City, Cranston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $367,322. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $76,695 median income, cost of living beats 50% of neighborhoods.
Is Garden City, Cranston safe?
Yes, Garden City, Cranston is safer than 84% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
Compare Garden City, Cranston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Garden City, Cranston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Garden City, Cranston represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Garden City, Cranston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Garden City, Cranston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Garden City, Cranston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Garden City, Cranston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Garden City, Cranston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Garden City, Cranston detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.