Garden City, Georgia

Area Profile

10,426 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Garden City, in Chatham County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 25% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 25% of 4,199 cities measured69
Schools3,844th of 4,162 cities measured16
Growth3,171st of 4,224 cities measured37
Housing affordability2,567th of 4,218 cities measured62
ClimateTop 39% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilience3,219th of 4,226 cities measured30
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability2,626th of 4,226 cities measured51
The quick read

Unemployment is 2.8% and median household income $47,814, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Chatham County, GA, which contains Garden City, rather than for Garden City alone.

In the public schools here, 27% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.0 students for every teacher.

2 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
10,426
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$47,814
Bottom 19% nationally
Density
728/sq mi
14.3 sq mi of land
Median age
35.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Georgia
Metro area
Nearest major airport
SAV
3 mi · Savannah/Hilton Head Intl
Median home value
$169,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Chatham County, GA, which contains Garden City, is 2.8%, lower than in 96% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Chatham County, GA, which contains Garden City, grew 1.2% over the past year, to 154,631 employed residents.

Median household income of $47,814 is lower than in 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsChatham County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$67,63642nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftChatham County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$62,16827th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,7002024 ACS 5-Year$47,814Bottom 19%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,8402024 ACS 5-Year$26,093Bottom 23%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year12.8%Bottom 42%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.3 minTop 22%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%Bottom 36%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year75.5%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentChatham County, GA’s figureJuly 2026154,631Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Chatham County, GA’s figureJuly 2026+4.3%Top 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Chatham County, GA’s figureJuly 2026+1.2%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceChatham County, GA’s figureJuly 2026159,06563rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year82.8%Top 33%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSavannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,750Bottom 11%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSavannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,240Bottom 18%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Chatham County, GA’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateChatham County, GA’s figureJuly 20262.8%Top 4%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%33rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202448k42k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $47,814 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Savannah, GA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand7,810$38,250
Retail Salespersons6,820$30,160
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,710$27,460
Waiters and Waitresses4,940$20,830
Cashiers4,470$29,140
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers4,410$58,930

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Chatham County, GA, which contains this city.

27% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 23% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.0 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
26.6%
Bottom 12% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
22.9%
Bottom 4% in Georgia
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Groves High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,46919.99%12%
Woodville-Tompkins Technical and Career High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County69414.854%47%
Garden City Elementary SchoolSavannah-Chatham County59713.353%33%
Mercer Middle SchoolSavannah-Chatham County51213.19%10%

78.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Georgia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Savannah, GA Metro Area is up 64% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,116 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,680, some 31% above the $1,282 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,680 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $67,200 a year, about 141% of the median household income here of $47,814.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,282 a month.

A median home at $169,400 costs 3.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $49,197, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
95.9

Prices here run about 4% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Savannah, GA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
33.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,680
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,282
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$169,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Garden City’s median household income of $47,814, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure202395.9Top 31%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+63.5%98th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+120.5%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.4Bottom 25%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year43.7%6th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3982024 ACS 5-Year4,75888th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,533Bottom 41%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,235Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,680Top 50%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1532024 ACS 5-Year$1,282Bottom 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,8552024 ACS 5-Year$169,40045th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1802024 ACS 5-Year$1,11628th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,3222024 ACS 5-Year$49,197Bottom 11%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%25th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year33.2%Bottom 26%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±232024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%56th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1852024 ACS 5-Year39287th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

37/ 100
Ranks 3,171 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 10,536 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 2 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Chatham County, which contains Garden City, lost about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $67,636, above the $62,168 of households that moved out.

At 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
2
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 9% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k10k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
66%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$67,636
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$62,168
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Effingham County, GA 1,119 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  2. Bryan County, GA 725 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  3. Liberty County, GA 535 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  4. Beaufort County, SC 412 people · 2.4% of arrivals
  5. Bulloch County, GA 339 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Effingham County, GA 1,988 people · 11% of departures
  2. Bryan County, GA 1,237 people · 6.9% of departures
  3. Liberty County, GA 896 people · 5.0% of departures
  4. Bulloch County, GA 582 people · 3.2% of departures
  5. Fulton County, GA 367 people · 2.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Chatham County, GA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025671.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−90%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 40°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.1 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SAVANNAH INTL AP, 3.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and coastal flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 68% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneHigh
Coastal floodingElevated
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, inland flooding, ice storm, strong wind, cold wave, tornado, hail, winter weather, drought, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
596
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,479
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Garden City's police department reported 596 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,479.

Chatham County records 10.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 15.1 per 100,000 residents in Chatham County.

Homicide
10.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
15.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Garden City’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Garden City (Chatham County) rather than Garden City itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Savannah/Hilton Head Intl at 3 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year87.7%Bottom 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle3 miTop 3%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%Top 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Savannah/Hilton Head IntlSAV3 mi9,351 ft
Brunswick Golden IslesBQK60 mi8,001 ft
Charleston AFB/IntlCHS87 mi9,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
52
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Other cities in Savannah, GA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
SavannahChatham County147,89857Savannah vs Garden City
PoolerChatham County28,46665Pooler vs Garden City
Richmond HillBryan County18,18170Richmond Hill vs Garden City
Wilmington IslandChatham County13,90569
Port WentworthChatham County12,89265
RinconEffingham County11,33269
GeorgetownChatham County11,15863

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Garden City side by side with a similar place.

Garden City vs CairoGarden City vs Jacksonville

Moving to Garden City from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Garden City

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Garden City with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Garden City closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3140811,621$45,839$169,700—