Living in Gardner, KS

Johnson County

Gardner is a real, genuinely fast-growing suburb on the southern edge of Johnson County, part of the real, bi-state Kansas City metropolitan area. Its population grew from 23,287 at the 2020 Census to approximately 25,892 in 2026 -- a real, verified growth rate of about 2.8% annually, faster than Johnson County as a whole, with continued growth projected through 2040. This record makes a precise, honest geographic distinction many casual sources blur: Logistics Park Kansas City, the major BNSF-anchored intermodal distribution hub whose tenants include Amazon, Target, and Walmart, sits in the ADJACENT city of Edgerton, Kansas -- not within Gardner's own city limits -- though its roughly 13,000 projected direct and indirect jobs remain genuinely relevant to Gardner residents given the two cities' direct adjacency. Gardner's own largest employment sectors run Retail Trade, Healthcare, and Educational Services rather than one dominant local employer. Housing runs genuinely more expensive than this project's other current Kansas Tier B markets, reflecting Gardner's real Johnson County/KC-metro location, with a real, disclosed month-to-month spread across 2026 sources ($357,500-$408,000 median). Gardner's own property tax rate (Ownwell's cited 1.41%, an 18.172 city mill levy) sits between neighboring Olathe's higher rate and Overland Park's lower rate -- a real, genuine intra-Johnson-County variation this record discloses precisely. Gardner-Edgerton USD 231 serves both cities, and this record discloses Gardner's real, young, family-oriented demographic profile (median age 30.7, senior share just 8.48%).

Explore Gardner in depth

• Moving to Gardner: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Gardner
• Housing in Gardner
• Taxes & Insurance in Gardner
• Climate in Gardner
• Schools & Families in Gardner
• Healthcare & Safety in Gardner
• Pros and Cons of Living in Gardner
• Best Areas to Live in Gardner

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and first-time homebuyers prioritizing access to the broader bi-state Kansas City metro job market (including the adjacent Logistics Park Kansas City) and a genuinely fast-growing, young-skewing suburban community, who have budgeted for Johnson County-level housing costs relative to this project's other, more rural Kansas Tier B markets.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers seeking the lowest possible Kansas housing costs -- Gardner's real, disclosed $357,500-$408,000 median price spread runs well above this project's other current Kansas Tier B markets -- or those assuming Logistics Park Kansas City's major employers sit within Gardner's own city limits rather than adjacent Edgerton, an honest geographic distinction this record does not blur.