What is the cost of living in Gainesville?

Gainesville has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 93.0, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,493/month.

What is the median salary in Gainesville?

The median salary in Gainesville is $62,498 annually (mean: $66,028). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Gainesville?

The violent crime rate in the Gainesville area is 210 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1030 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Gainesville?

The state of FL has 4,029 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 17.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Gainesville?

Infant center-based childcare in the Gainesville area averages $10,505 per year. Preschool averages $7,983/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Gainesville a good place to relocate?

Gainesville has a Life Score of 47.4/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Gainesville sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Gainesville ranks #269 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Gainesville, FL

LiveAbility 46.3/100 places Gainesville #269 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,493
2BR rent / mo: $62,498
Median salary: 46.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Gainesville ranks #269 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (46.3/100), with its strongest marks in safety and air quality.

#269
of 387 US metros · Near median: 23,372,215
metro-area population: 210
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,029
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (18/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Gainesville ranks #269 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,493/mo, median salary $62,498; LiveAbility Score 46.3/100, strongest in safety and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 46.3/100 places Gainesville #269 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,493/mo.

LiveAbility 46.3/100 puts Gainesville in the bottom third (#269 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Gainesville area is 134,520.

Gainesville vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

46 Top 70% higher than 30% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Gainesville housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Gainesville MSA; housing RPP 93.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,493/mo.

Studio

$1,154

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,246

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,493

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,868

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,977

/month

Gainesville wages and employment

Gainesville posts 134,520 total employment with median salary $62,498.

Median Salary

$62,498

Mean Salary

$66,028

Total Employment

134,520

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$81,870
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,280
Retail Salespersons	$31,830
Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other	$31,750
Cashiers	$29,710

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Gainesville area from NCES.

Schools

4,029

Enrollment

2,838,009

Student:Teacher

17.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Gainesville area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,505

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,611

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,983

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Gainesville's composite Life Score is 47.4/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

35/100

Below average

Wages

26/100

Weak

Rent

32/100

Weak

Crime

87/100

Elite

Schools

82/100

Elite

Childcare

51/100

Average

Environment

42/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Gainesville ranks #269 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 46.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (87/100)

Safety

87
Air quality

81
Climate

61
Low hazard

59
Cost of living

35
Housing

32
Job market

26
Schools

18

What this shows Gainesville's strongest dimensions are safety and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 18/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Gainesville to

Colorado Springs Columbia Columbia Columbus Columbus Columbus

Metros near Gainesville on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Gainesville on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Gainesville cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Gainesville wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Gainesville?

Gainesville runs a $62,498 median salary at a 96.7 cost index, ranking #269 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Gainesville's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Gainesville head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Gainesville
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.