Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,196, settled in 1852.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Gainesville grades A− overall, 109th among Virginia's 249 graded towns. The median household earns $174K. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 91% of the country. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $751K, 5.9 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Gainesville’s median household income is $174,000, against $101,000 in Virginia’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Gainesville is home to Ascent College.
Where Gainesville beats most towns.
11,481 counted in 2010 and 18,112 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Gainesville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 6 maps from 1933 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gainesville is unincorporated, so Prince William County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Gainesville.
Gainesville trades workers with Chantilly and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of Virginia and has household incomes well above the Virginia norm.
The median property tax bill is $6,520, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Gainesville is $2,283 a month. The typical Gainesville home is worth about $751,000, up 1.8% in a year, 82% above the Virginia typical home. 84% of Gainesville households own their home.
| Gainesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,283 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Prince William County Public Schools. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,403 | B+ |
| Gainesville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,648 | – |
| Buckland Mills ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 735 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
17 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Gainesville’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Leopold's Preserve, 339 acres with 6.9 miles of trail.
| Gainesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.6 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.8% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Leopold's Preserve | 6.9 mi | 339 |
| 2. Elizabeth Nickens Park Site | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 6.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide. Against the 1,544 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gainesville’s, it is less healthy than 64%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Gainesville. Gainesville beats the Virginia average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 14% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Gainesville.
| Gainesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Gainesville | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gainesville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Gainesville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Gainesville has about as many jobs (9,526) as working residents, but only 472 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 34.5 minutes, against 27.3 across Virginia.
Most working residents leave Gainesville for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Gainesville grew to 9,526 in 2023, 3,154 more than in 2013. Half commute less than 18 miles.
| Gainesville | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 25% | 17% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gainesville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw33 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw31 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw32 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw34 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
13 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gainesville
About 7 of every 100 Gainesville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Gainesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 17,287 in the 2020 census. Gainesville is home to Jiffy Lube Live, an outdoor amphitheater originally known as the Nissan Pavilion.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Gainesville.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville | #109 | A− | D | — | B | A |
| Linton Hall | #94 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Haymarket | — | — | C | — | B | A |
Haymarket has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Gainesville, Linton Hall and Haymarket report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gainesville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Gainesville grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #109 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including John Carter and Brandon Williamson.
