Why look at Gainesville?
- Moderately priced housing. Median home is $300k.
- Stable market. Home values -2.1% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
- No state income tax. Higher take-home pay than equivalent salary in a high-tax state.
Where Gainesville stands
Steady, no major recent move.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 15.3 price-to-rent ratio, Gainesville is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Gainesville (Wikipedia)
Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous city in North Central Florida with a population of 141,085 at the 2020 census, while the Gainesville metropolitan area has an estimated 360,000 residents. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the third-largest public university campus by enrollment in the United States as of the 2023–2024 academic year. The university is represented by the Florida Gators sports teams in NCAA competitions.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Alachua County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Alachua County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Neighborhoods of Gainesville
63 tracked · ranked by median home valueSee the full neighborhood ranking →
Run the numbers for Gainesville
Florida context
Schools
Gainesville is served by 50 public schools enrolling about 22,797 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 18.4:1 — larger classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Gainesville listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in Gainesville
4 from local press- Big crowd greets new Raising Cane’s opening in GainesvilleLOCALGainesville Sun21h ago
- Florida Selected to Host Program’s 20th NCAA RegionalLOCALFlorida Gators3d ago
- Gainesville man accused of first-degree murderLOCALThe Independent Florida Alligator1w ago
- Raising Cane’s to open Archer Road location on May 27LOCALMainstreet Daily News Gainesville1w ago
- Rattlers Close Historic Season at Gainesville Regional – Florida A&MFAMU Athletics1w ago
- Thousands pack Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for Morgan Wallen concertWCJB1w ago
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Gainesville-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Gainesville area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like Gainesville
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Gainesville’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Gainesville →Cities similar to Gainesville
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
Florida: 259 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Jobs & hiring
In Gainesville, unemployment sits around 5.5%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are education, tech and healthcare.
Search current openings: