Overall
- Gainesville
- 96.7
- Madison
- 97.3
Diff +0.6 RPP
Gainesville vs Madison
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Madison is 0.6% more expensive than Gainesville.
0.6% more expensive
Madison, WI is 0.6% more expensive than Gainesville, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 96.7). A $100,000 salary in Gainesville buys about the same as $100,573 in Madison; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 96.7 (Gainesville) vs 97.3 (Madison)
- $100k in Gainesville ≈ $100,573 purchasing power in Madison
- Rents drives the gap (+6.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:WI 96.7→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × WI
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Gainesville
96.7
Cost Index
Madison
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Gainesville, FL and Madison, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Madison is 6.8 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Gainesville corresponds to $100,573 in Madison.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Gainesville
- 96.2
- Madison
- 93.8
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Gainesville
- 88.2
- Madison
- 89.8
Diff +1.7 RPP
Rents
- Gainesville
- 93.0
- Madison
- 99.7
Diff +6.8 RPP
| Category | Gainesville | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.7 | 97.3 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.8 | -2.5 |
| Services | 88.2 | 89.8 | +1.7 |
| Rents | 93.0 | 99.7 | +6.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Gainesville 96.7
Madison 97.3
Goods
Gainesville 96.2
Madison 93.8
Services
Gainesville 88.2
Madison 89.8
Rents
Gainesville 93.0
Madison 99.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Gainesville would need to be in Madison for the same purchasing power:
| In Gainesville | In Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,286 | +$286 |
| $75,000 | $75,430 | +$430 |
| $100,000 | $100,573 | +$573 |
| $150,000 | $150,859 | +$859 |
$ in Gainesville = in Madison
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.7 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison more expensive than Gainesville?
Madison is 0.6% more expensive than Gainesville. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 96.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Madison equals $100K in Gainesville?
A $100,000 salary in Gainesville has the same purchasing power as $100,573 in Madison. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Gainesville and Madison?
Rents in Gainesville are indexed at 93.0 while Madison is at 99.7 (national average = 100). Madison has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.