Metro Life Score
Gainesville, FL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 56th percentile of the national corpus.
- 50.8
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #172
- of 387 metros
- 56%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Gainesville is above-median composite Life Score — #172 of 387 (50.8/100, grade B-, 56th percentile). Carried by safety at 95/100; held back most by rent at 32/100.
- 56th
- composite percentile
- #172
- of 387 peers
- 35th
- cost dimension percentile
- 39th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature cost
Gainesville: mid-pack cost with a distinct Life Score shape
Gainesville sits mid-pack on cost (≈35th percentile, DEAR) with composite #172 of 387 (50.8/100). Profile SAFE-LED; wages mark LOW. Strongest safety 95/100; weakest rent 32/100. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Gainesville, FL ranks #172 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #253 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 96.7 (rent-RPP 93.0). BLS median salary $62,498, 134,520 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,493/mo (studio $1,154).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Gainesville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
51 56th percentile higher than 56% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 50.8 is built
Gainesville's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Gainesville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Gainesville With...
Ranking Context
Gainesville outranks 56% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #169 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 51.0 | B- |
| #170 | Richmond, VA | 51.2 | B- |
| #171 | Fort Wayne, IN | 51.2 | B- |
| #172 | Gainesville, FL | 50.8 | B- |
| #173 | Abilene, TX | 50.8 | B- |
| #174 | Logan, UT-ID | 50.8 | B- |
| #175 | Longview-Kelso, WA | 50.8 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Gainesville, FL is top 44% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 35% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
FL Metro Scores
Read with Gainesville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Gainesville (MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Abilene, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Logan, UT-ID
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Longview-Kelso, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Midland, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
State College, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 34/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Bangor, ME (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 35/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Gainesville, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Gainesville's middle-third Life Score
Gainesville scores 50.8/100 overall, but Safety (95.3) and Rent (31.9) sit 63.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Gainesville's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.