Living in Garden Plain, Kansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.1% below the U.S. average in the Wichita metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Garden Plain itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byVia Christi Hospital Wichita St. Teresa, INC in Wichita, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 144 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Garden Plain meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $258,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 18%Sedgwick County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $958 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $85,455U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $3,304 a yearKansas: $2,798
Homes built before 1940: 13%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.9U.S. average = 100 (the Wichita metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Wichita metro area, not Garden Plain alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,0102020: 947
Median age: 27.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 33%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (27%); manufacturing (19%); other services (12%)
Average commute: 26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Via Christi Hospital Wichita St. Teresa, INC, Wichita, KS, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Garden Plain, run by Renwick.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kansas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 85%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 22°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 67 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 109 a year
Rain and melted snow: 33.3 inches a year
Snow: 6 inches a year
Elevation: 1,456 feet

Weather stations: Wichita Wx (13 miles away) and Cheney 5N (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Via Christi Hospital Wichita St. Teresa, INCEmergency room10

Wichita, KSCity of 401,00018

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million144

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Via Christi Hospital Wichita St. Teresa, Wichita, Tulsa.

Sedgwick County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Garden Plain's history on Wikipedia.

Know Garden Plain?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Cheney, KS2,200 people, 6 miles
Goddard, KS6,600 people, 7 miles
Colwich, KS1,400 people, 11 miles
Maize, KS7,900 people, 14 miles
Clearwater, KS2,800 people, 14 miles
Haven, KS1,200 people, 18 miles

Smaller places

St. Marks, KS (unincorporated)156 people, 8 miles
Andale, KS926 people, 9 miles
Viola, KS112 people, 13 miles
Mount Hope, KS803 people, 15 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.