What is the cost of living in Gainesville?

Gainesville has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 93.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,514/month.

What is the median salary in Gainesville?

The median salary in Gainesville is $59,789 annually (mean: $64,057). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Gainesville?

The violent crime rate in the Gainesville area is 300 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1567 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Gainesville?

The state of GA has 2,315 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Gainesville?

Infant center-based childcare in the Gainesville area averages $6,591 per year. Preschool averages $6,034/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Gainesville a good place to relocate?

Gainesville has a Life Score of 42.4/100 (F), 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 below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Gainesville sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Gainesville ranks #320 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, GA

LiveAbility 40.6/100 places Gainesville #320 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,514
2BR rent / mo: $59,789
Median salary: 40.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Gainesville ranks #320 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (40.6/100), with its strongest marks in schools and climate.

#320
of 387 US metros · Below median: 11,180,878
metro-area population: 300
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,315
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (15/100). 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 #320 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,514/mo, median salary $59,789; LiveAbility Score 40.6/100, strongest in schools and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 40.6/100 places Gainesville #320 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.8 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,514/mo.

LiveAbility 40.6/100 puts Gainesville in the bottom third (#320 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Gainesville area is 93,210.

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)

41 Top 83% higher than 17% 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 93.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,514/mo.

Studio

$1,177

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,381

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,514

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,834

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,127

/month

Gainesville wages and employment

Gainesville posts 93,210 total employment with median salary $59,789.

Median Salary

$59,789

Mean Salary

$64,057

Total Employment

93,210

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$38,930
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	$39,420
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,690
Retail Salespersons	$31,870
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$39,420

Schools & Education

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

Schools

2,315

Enrollment

1,738,641

Student:Teacher

14.4:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$6,591

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,153

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,034

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Gainesville's composite Life Score is 42.4/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

34/100

Weak

Wages

30/100

Weak

Rent

30/100

Weak

Crime

54/100

Average

Schools

33/100

Weak

Childcare

96/100

Elite

Environment

39/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Gainesville ranks #320 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 40.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (67/100)

Schools

67
Climate

61
Safety

54
Low hazard

45
Cost of living

34
Job market

30
Housing

30
Air quality

15

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

Compare Gainesville to

Vineland Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk Visalia Waco Walla Walla Warner Robins

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 $59,789 median salary at a 96.8 cost index, ranking #320 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.