Cost of living comparison
compared to
Gainesville vs. Lawrence Cost of Living Summary
Gainesville is 14.0% more expensive than Lawrence.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.6% less in Gainesville
- Groceries
-
pay 16.2% less in Gainesville
- Transportation
-
pay 21.9% more in Gainesville
- Housing
-
pay 27.3% more in Gainesville
- Childcare
-
pay 2.7 times more in Gainesville
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.3% less in Gainesville
- Clothing
-
pay 15.1% more in Gainesville
Gainesville vs. Lawrence Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Gainesville instead of Lawrence, you would:
pay 7.6% less for restaurants
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.55
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.87
|
$1.50
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.2% less for groceries
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.15
|
$2.42
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.64
|
$8.26
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.30
|
$3.17
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.98
|
$3.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.71
|
$3.47
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$1.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.95
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$1.15
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$2.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
|
$1.06
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$0.98
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of groceries
pay 21.9% more for transportation
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.42
|
$3.10
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? | ?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,349.00
|
$32,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.91
|
$29.35
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of transportation
pay 27.3% more for housing
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.75
|
$88.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,187.50
|
$1,660.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$924.25
|
$1,363.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$210.42
|
$137.59
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of housing
pay 2.7 times more for childcare
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$980.50
|
$2,577.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,239.33
|
$54,725.00
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of childcare
pay 0.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.09
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.00
|
$39.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.1% more for clothing
|
Lawrence
|
Gainesville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.67
|
$63.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.56
|
$45.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.00
|
$100.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$100.00
|
$100.00
|
|
Lawrence vs. Gainesville - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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