Best PlacesGards Point, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gards Point, 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.
Gards Point ranks 31,163rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gards Point
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.
Gards Point's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gards Point ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of towns
- QuietBetter than 87% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 79% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
Where Gards Point ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 49 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Gards Point
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gards Point home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,293, 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 Gards Point's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Gards Point
Gards Point runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gards Point.
Who works in Gards Point, and how
Work in Gards Point centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Gards Point
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Gards Point.
What the weather is like in Gards Point, month by month
Gards Point sees roughly 49 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Gards Point
The nearest airport, Evansville Regional, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gards Point
Schools across Gards Point average a D, better than 5% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Albion Grade SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- West Salem Grade SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Mt Carmel Grade SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mt Carmel Junior High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Edwards County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Mount Carmel High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gards Point school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gards Point 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 Gards Point against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Gards Point
Is Gards Point a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gards Point ranks 31,163rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, civic engagement, and quiet, and lowest on the weather and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gards Point expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,616. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $84,293 median income, cost of living beats 79% of towns.
Is Gards Point safe?
Yes, Gards Point is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $198 per resident a year.
Compare Gards Point with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gards Point. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gards Point 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.
Gards Point detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gards Point: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gards Point: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gards Point: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gards Point: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gards Point 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.