Best PlacesGardner, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gardner, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gardner ranks 34,731st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Gardner
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.
Gardner's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gardner ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Short commute20.1 minutes each way, better than 87% of towns
- QuietBetter than 84% of towns
- Household income$95,094 median, better than 81% of towns
Where Gardner ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Gardner
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gardner home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,094, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Gardner's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Gardner
Gardner runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gardner.
Who works in Gardner, and how
Work in Gardner centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Gardner
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Gardner.
What the weather is like in Gardner, month by month
Gardner sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| April | 87° | 74° | 63° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 87° | 76° | 69° |
Flying in and out of Gardner
The nearest airport, Punta Gorda, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Southwest Florida International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gardner
Schools across Gardner average a B−, better than 55% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Zolfo Springs Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Memorial Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- West Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Desoto Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Desoto County High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gardner school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gardner 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 Gardner against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Gardner
Is Gardner a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gardner ranks 34,731st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on summer heat and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gardner expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $131,442. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $95,094 median income, cost of living beats 78% of towns.
Is Gardner safe?
Gardner is safer than 15% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
Compare Gardner with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gardner. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gardner 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.
Gardner detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gardner: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gardner: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gardner: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gardner: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gardner 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.