Waco → Gainesville
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Waco to Gainesville is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 92.5 to 96.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $541/mo.
- -$955
- BLS median salary lower in Gainesville
- 395 to 300
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.7:1 to 14.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $975
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Gainesville
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 4% higher cost of living
- - $541/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 92.5 to 96.8 (ratio 1.05), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $541/mo ($6,492/yr) from $973 in Waco to $1,514 in Gainesville.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Gainesville sits #320 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Waco is #233/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $955 lower ($60,744 → $59,789). Labor-market size: 117,690 tracked jobs at origin vs 93,210 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Texas 65 (C, #19/51) vs Georgia 68 (C, #10/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
- Income tax
- 88
- Property tax
- 74
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 48
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Waco to see what you'd need to earn in Gainesville to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026