Gainesville vs. McKinney Cost of Living Summary

Gainesville is 0.4% more expensive than McKinney.

Restaurants
pay 17.0% less in Gainesville
Groceries
pay 6.2% less in Gainesville
Transportation
pay 10.0% less in Gainesville
Housing
pay 2.3% less in Gainesville
Childcare
pay 93.3% more in Gainesville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.9% more in Gainesville
Clothing
pay 36.5% more in Gainesville

The cost of childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Gainesville are more expensive than in McKinney. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, groceries, and housing are lower in Gainesville. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Gainesville.

Gainesville vs. McKinney Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Gainesville instead of McKinney, you would:

pay 17.0% less for restaurants

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.00
 
$15.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.60
 
$2.00
 

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pay 6.2% less for groceries

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Bread
1 loaf
$2.75
 
$2.42
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.14
 
$8.26
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.75
 
$3.17
 

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pay 10.0% less for transportation

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.39
 
$3.10
 
Monthly public transit pass $192.00
 
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,232.00
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 2.3% less for housing

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.00
 
$88.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,692.50
 
$1,660.67
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,400.00
 
$1,363.33
 

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pay 93.3% more for childcare

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,333.33
 
$2,577.11
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $54,725.00
 

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pay 5.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.00
 
$5.25
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.00
 
$7.50
 

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pay 36.5% more for clothing

 
McKinney
Gainesville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.00
 
$63.75
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$28.50
 
$45.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.25
 
$100.00
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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