Gainesville, Florida
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Gainesville.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Gainesville compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 143,700City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $39,000Incorporated place (ACS)50% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 92ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)8% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $290,000City limits (ACS)Near U.S. avg ($303,400)U.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,350City limits (ACS)Near U.S. avg ($1,348)U.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 2.8%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 19 min24% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3424% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 48launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Property crime rate
- 68launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Summer high
- 91°F4.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 46°F12.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 50 in52% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 23213% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Gainesville with another city
Relocators eyeing Gainesville, Florida will find roughly 143,700 residents within city limits. Households here report a median income near $39,000; our housing-derived cost index is about 92 (below the national housing-cost baseline). Budget for median rents around $1,350 a month before you lock a neighborhood.
Subtropical summers, hurricane planning, and no state income tax loom large. With about 50 inches of rain a year, wet-season drainage and mold checks are worth asking about. Commutes average near 19 minutes one-way, with walkability near 34/100. A recent county unemployment reading near 2.8% suggests a relatively tight local labor market. This city hasn't had its FBI crime data refreshed yet, so the safety figure is a placeholder estimate — verify current numbers before treating it as authoritative.
Gainesville is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Gainesville with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey (curated seed)
- BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics (curated seed)
- Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer (curated seed)
- Climate: NOAA Climate Normals (curated seed)
Last updated 2026-07-28