Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Gainesville earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Only 5% stay in Gainesville for work; outside it, Chantilly is the main destination (5%, 13 miles). The poverty rate is 4.0%, next to 9.9% for Virginia as a whole. For jobs and income Gainesville is better than 97% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Gainesville, in brief
Gainesville trades workers with the towns around it
Gainesville has about as many jobs (9,526) as working residents (8,614), but they are mostly different people: 8,142 residents leave for work each day while 9,054 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Gainesville are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Gainesville’s commute
The biggest draw, Chantilly, gets only 5% of working residents, and 61% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Gainesville residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Gainesville draws workers from far and wide
The 9,526 jobs in Gainesville are filled from a wide area. Gainesville’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Gainesville
71% of Gainesville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Gainesville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Gainesville workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 27 across Virginia. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Gainesville: the grade in detail
Household income is its strongest input ($174,410, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gainesville could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Gainesville
On a workday 8,142 residents head out to work, 472 work right here, and 9,054 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Gainesville work
Where Gainesville clocks in
5% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Gainesville
9,526 jobs are based in Gainesville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gainesville, 2013 → 2023: 6,372 → 9,526. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gainesville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 35 minutes in Gainesville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gainesville workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,147 commuters (the 25% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Gainesville goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Gainesville commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,580 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 8% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.9% of Gainesville households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Gainesville’s commuters take a bus or train.
103rd of 1,915: where Gainesville ranks among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Stoneham MA | 24,253 | $114K | 5.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| 102 | Concord Township OH | 19,217 | $122K | 2.9% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 103 | Gainesville VA | 18,196 | $174K | 4.0% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| 104 | Brambleton VA | 24,537 | $238K | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3% | A+ |
| 105 | Helena AL | 23,388 | $115K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Gainesville, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Next door to Gainesville
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gainesville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville | – | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $174,410 |
| Linton Hall | under 3% | A | B+ | 38 min | $178,915 |
| Haymarket | under 3% | A | A− | 31 min | $173,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gainesville’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Gainesville: questions
What is the median household income in Gainesville?
$174,410 (±$13,756) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gainesville?
4.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gainesville?
35 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gainesville work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chantilly (5%, 13 mi), Tysons (5%, 24 mi), Reston (5%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gainesville walkable?
Gainesville is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gainesville without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gainesville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gainesville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.