Cost of living in Gainesville, Texas

Gainesville, Texas has about 17,883 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $177,000.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Cooke County is $1,314 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Gainesville. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Texas's prices sit at 97.1 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Texas does not tax wages. A typical combined sales tax is 8.2% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Gainesville's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Texas home paid 15.88¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Gainesville's bill.

For the week of October 12, 2026, EIA's all-grades gasoline price in Texas was $3.889 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $1,866.72 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Texas shares this price.

Among 885 places we list in Texas with a rent figure, 516 have higher typical rent than Gainesville.