City profile · Virginia · Census ACS 2023

Gainesville, VA

Gainesville's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

18,036
Residents
$168,978
Median income
$660,800
Median home
$1,369
Median rent (state)
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See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Gainesville.

Place dossier plate

Sheet VA-GAINESVILLE-VA · Gainesville, VA 18,036 pop · income 96th pct

POP-TOWN · INC-TOP · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-TOWN 18,036
  • INC-TOP $168,978
  • COL-PAR 101.1
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-TOP 96th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Madeira
  • HOME-HIGH $660,800
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Madeira, OH (+ $3 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Gainesville

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Gainesville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Gainesville on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 18,036.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $168,978. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Gainesville - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Gainesville lands in the 96th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

96th
percentile, household income
92nd
percentile, home value
62nd
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Gainesville, VA

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 18,036 residents in Gainesville, a small town within Virginia. Households in Gainesville report a median income of $168,978 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.1%. Gainesville's housing stock carries a median value of $660,800, and the median resident age is 37.5 years. About 56.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 72.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The city is served by 6 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.

Virginia tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Virginia scores 101.1 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,369 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Virginia's average monthly utility costs around $235 (state average). The average commute for Gainesville workers runs 27.3 minutes, with 65.1% driving alone and 23.9% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 33.3 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Gainesville's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Gainesville, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Gainesville?

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Within Virginia, the closest population matches are Franconia (18,141 residents, $152,007 income); Laurel (18,180 residents, $69,932 income); Hybla Valley (17,877 residents, $72,068 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are North Massapequa, NY (18,037 residents); Cohoes, NY (18,043 residents); Concord, MO (18,028 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

2. Schools and households

What does the education layer cover for Gainesville?

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 56.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

See how the family ranking is built →

3. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Gainesville?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.

The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 4

What does the journey to work look like in Gainesville?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 65.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 27.3 minutes.

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

18,036 residents

Small city (10k–49k)

Median Household Income

$168,978 /yr

Top-decile income · poverty 3.1% (Low poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

101.1 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average

City profile score · Gainesville, VA

76/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Household income A+
$168,978

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Bachelor's+ share A+
56.7%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Poverty rate B+
3.1%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Cost of living F
101.1 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Gainesville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Household income, Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate, Cost of living. Household incomeBachelor's+ sharePoverty rateCost of living 76 B+
Gainesville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Household income: 100/100 (A+) · $168,978
  • Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 56.7%
  • Poverty rate: 78/100 (B+) · 3.1%
  • Cost of living: 35/100 (F) · 101.1 index

How does Gainesville compare to other US cities?

Where Gainesville sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 96% higher than other cities
Home value 92% pricier than other cities
Median rent 62% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Gainesville against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Virginia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Virginia-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Gainesville near the bottom of Virginia's cities

Among the 619 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Gainesville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Gainesville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#51 of 558
91st percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 619
0th percentile in Virginia
Median Home Value
#56 of 567
90th percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#389 of 616
36th percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#113 of 618
82nd percentile in Virginia
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Virginia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

96thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

96th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Gainesville's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$660,800 8th percentile more affordable than 8% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). This entry sits in this band. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Gainesville $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. 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 U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Gainesville's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.9×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,429 of 15,516
More affordable than 33% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,905 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)

At 3.9×, Gainesville sits in the moderate band: national rank #10,429 of 15,516 and #1,905 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999). Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$168,978 Gainesville, VA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Gainesville, VA Gainesville, VA's median household income ($168,978) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Gainesville, VA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Gainesville, VA median $168,978/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Gainesville, VA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Gainesville, VA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 56.7%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 3.1%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 72.1%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
18,036
Median Income
$168,978
Median Home Value
$660,800
Median Age
37.5
Poverty Rate
3.1%
Labor force participation
72.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
56.7%

Schools

Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Average Commute Time
27.3 minutes
Drive Alone
65.1%
Carpool
7.2%
Public Transit
1.6%
Walk
0.8%
Work from Home
23.9%
Other
1.4%

Based on 9,613 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Virginia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Virginia at $235 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $50 ).

These are Virginia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Gainesville. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Virginia's BEA cost-of-living index is 101.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Gainesville is $1,369/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Virginia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 33.3 / 100 (Very Low).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Virginia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Gainesville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Gainesville compares to similar-size Virginia cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Gainesville (this city) 18,036 $168,978
Franconia 18,141 $152,007
Laurel 18,180 $69,932
Hybla Valley 17,877 $72,068
NCES CCD
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

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

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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