Gainesville ranks #26 in Florida for short commutes
Gainesville is ranked on 33 lists against the 635 Florida towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 6.
Younger than 99% of Florida
Not better or worse, just Gainesville’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Gainesville does best on
Each list ranks every FL town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Gainesville marked.
Gainesville lands in the top half on 18 of 22 lists
Each dot is Gainesville’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in FL, the right end is last. Areas where Gainesville does best come first.
1 spot from the top 25 for short commutes
Lists where Gainesville sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Gainesville out-ranks 0 of its 1 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Every FL list, and where Gainesville lands
38 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Getting around
P Shortest commute#1 Pensacola Station · 9.7 min #26People
Most educated#1 Indian River Shores · 79.3%
#73
F
Youngest#1 Florida Gulf Coast University · 19.5
#7
Oldest#1 Timber Pines · 74.8
#629
Most residents 65+#1 The Villages · 85.2%
#546
Most kids#1 Wauchula · 39.3%
#521 Health
Healthiest#1 Bay Hill · 98 / 100
#216
H
Lowest obesity#1 Highland Beach · 20%
#244
Fewest smokers#1 Pelican Bay · 5%
#229
N
Most active#1 Nocatee · 15%
#148
Fewest uninsured#1 Longboat Key · 4%
#296
Lowest depression#1 Olympia Heights · 12%
#615
Closest to a top hospital#1 Fernandina Beach · 0.2 mi
#74 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Tierra Verde · 58.9%
#94
Most trails#1 Lely · 6.3 mi / sq mi
#120
Most walkable#1 West Miami · 544 / sq mi
#347 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Silver Springs · 0.4 yrs
#148
Cheapest rent#1 Chattahoochee · $613/mo
#157
Lowest property tax#1 Silver Springs · $199/yr
#293
Rent easiest to afford#1 Milton · 23.2%
#214 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Lower Grand Lagoon · 57.1%
#501
Most new homes#1 Westlake · 146.3 per 1,000
#67
Fastest-rising home prices#1 West Little River · +102.6%
#389
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Miami Shores · 63.2 per home
Climate
Mildest winters#1 Key West · 64.8°
#498
Hottest summers#1 Ave Maria · 92.7°
#173
Coolest summers#1 Key Largo · 89.0°
#367
Longest growing season#1 Arcadia · 324 days
#92
Wettest#1 Destin · 64 in
#426 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 North Miami Beach · 20.3 per resident
Most library borrowing#1 Winter Park · 17.4 per resident
Safety
Safest#1 Gulf Breeze · 4.8
The number on the right is Gainesville’s spot. All of Florida’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every FL list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.