Garden City

Wayne County26,739 residentsGarden City Public Schools
54
C−
Suburbgrade score

37th of 54 Detroit suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by employment & income.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Garden City yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 54 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

What living here is actually like
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What Garden City is like to live in, by category

Bars show Garden City against Detroit. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 47/100
D
Median home value$168,800
Detroit $249,700
Median rent$1,150/mo
Detroit $1,207/mo
Cost-burdened households25%
Detroit 29%

Schools

18% of the score · 45/100
D
Within-state proficiency41st pct
Detroit median 46th pct
Student–teacher ratio15.2
Detroit median 16.8
Graduation rate74%
Detroit median 87%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 73/100
B
Housing cost index81
Detroit 100
Eff. tax rate1.64%
Detroit 1.27%
Local sales tax6.00%
Detroit median 6.00%
Composed in-house · ACS 2020–24 · ACS 2020–24 · Tax Foundation state average, January 1, 2026Full page →

Commute & transport

14% of the score · 55/100
C−
Mean commute26.9 min
Detroit 26.0 min
Under 30 minutes63%
Detroit 61%
Transit stops / sq mi6.8
Detroit median 7.8 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 75/100
B
Restaurants & cafés54
Detroit median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Detroit median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks66
Detroit median 61 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 34/100
F
Median household income$67,294
Detroit $76,664
Unemployment8.0%
Detroit 6.4%
Professional occupations29%
Detroit 43%

Residents

12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.

Ask the people who live here

Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.

0 responses·Residents category: waiting for first responses·Live

Nobody has answered for Garden City yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →

Better than Garden City on employment & income

Garden City's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.

Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in Garden City

Is Garden City, MI a good place to live?

Garden City scores 54 out of 100, 37th of 54 Detroit suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Garden City expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades B. The median home is $168,800, 32% below the Detroit median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.64%. $1,150/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Garden City?

Schools grade D. The districts serving Garden City sit at the 41st pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 74% graduation rate and a 15.2 student–teacher ratio. Garden City is served by Garden City Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Garden City?

The mean commute is 26.9 min, with 63% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 6.8 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Garden City?

Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 54 restaurants and cafés and 66 parks, which grades B on amenities.

Are the homes in Garden City old or new?

The median home in Garden City was built in 1956 — older than the Detroit median of 1968. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 89% of homes are houses rather than flats.

Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.