Overall
- Gainesville
- 96.7
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff -0.3 RPP
Gainesville vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 0.3% less expensive than Gainesville.
0.3% less expensive
Wilmington, NC is 0.3% less expensive than Gainesville, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 96.7). A $100,000 salary in Gainesville buys about the same as $99,678 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 96.7 (Gainesville) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Gainesville ≈ $99,678 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Goods drives the gap (+0.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:NC 96.7→96.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × NC
- 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
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Gainesville, FL and Wilmington, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Wilmington is 0.4 points higher. But goods and rents 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,678 in Wilmington as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Gainesville, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Gainesville
- 96.2
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff +0.4 RPP
Services
- Gainesville
- 88.2
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff -0.3 RPP
Rents
- Gainesville
- 93.0
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff +0.2 RPP
| Category | Gainesville | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.7 | 96.4 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.6 | +0.4 |
| Services | 88.2 | 87.9 | -0.3 |
| Rents | 93.0 | 93.2 | +0.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Gainesville 96.7
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Gainesville 96.2
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Gainesville 88.2
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Gainesville 93.0
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Gainesville would need to be in Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Gainesville | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,839 | $-161 |
| $75,000 | $74,759 | $-241 |
| $100,000 | $99,678 | $-322 |
| $150,000 | $149,518 | $-482 |
$ in Gainesville = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.7 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington more expensive than Gainesville?
Wilmington is 0.3% less expensive than Gainesville. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 96.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Gainesville?
A $100,000 salary in Gainesville has the same purchasing power as $99,678 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Gainesville and Wilmington?
Rents in Gainesville are indexed at 93.0 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (national average = 100). Wilmington 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.