PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Gainesville, FL

46.5
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#248
of 387 metros
36%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Gainesville ranks #248 of 387 US metros, ahead of 36% - carried by its safety (87/100) and held back most by wages (26/100).

87
strongest: Safety
82
then: Schools
26
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Gainesville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

47 36th percentile higher than 36% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Gainesville Life Score

Gainesville's composite score of 46.5 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #248 of 387, ahead of 36% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (87/100) and Schools (82/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (26/100) and Rent (32/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL). Ranks #245-#251 below.

Dimension detail

How Gainesville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 35/100 (20%)
Wages 26/100 (20%)
Rent 32/100 (15%)
Safety 87/100 (15%)
Schools 82/100 (10%)
Childcare 51/100 (10%)
Environment 33/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

96.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,498
Avg Median Salary
$1,493
2BR Fair Market Rent
210
Violent Crime/100K (FL)
17.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,505
Infant Childcare/yr (FL)
81
Superfund Sites (FL)
134,520
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Gainesville With...

Gainesville vs Wildwood Compare → Gainesville vs Jacksonville Compare → Gainesville vs Tallahassee Compare → Gainesville vs Waterloo Compare → Gainesville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Gainesville outranks 36% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#245 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC 46.6 C+
#246 El Paso, TX 46.6 C+
#247 Asheville, NC 46.6 C+
#248 Gainesville, FL 46.5 C+
#249 Jefferson City, MO 46.5 C+
#250 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 46.4 C+
#251 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 46.4 C+

FL Metro Scores

Wildwood-The Villages, FL A+ 71.6 Jacksonville, FL B+ 59.0 Tallahassee, FL B 54.9 Sebring, FL B 54.8 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL B 52.8 Homosassa Springs, FL B- 51.0

Using Gainesville's Life Score

Gainesville is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (87/100) and its weakest is wages (26/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Gainesville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Gainesville lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Gainesville's biggest strengths? ▼
Gainesville's strongest dimensions are Safety (87/100), Schools (82/100), Childcare (51/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Gainesville's weakest areas? ▼
Gainesville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (26/100), Rent (32/100), Environment (33/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Gainesville compared to the national average? ▼
Gainesville's Regional Price Parity is 96.7 (3.3% less than national); rent RPP 93.0.
What is the average salary in Gainesville? ▼
Gainesville median salary: $62,498, 134,520 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Gainesville's 46.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.