Gainesville, GA cityscape
Markets / Georgia / Gainesville
RENTAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Gainesville, GA

Gainesville merits selective investigation by income-focused buyers who can negotiate and accept muted growth; investors dependent on quick appreciation or aggressive rent increases should avoid it.

Median price$393k
Median rent$1,678
Gross yield5.1%
Job growth▲ 0.3%
Metro Area · CBSA 2358040 public sourcesChecked nightly
SCORE / 10041RANK #403 / 571
Composite Market ScoreRank #403 of 571 scored US market areas
Direct rental answer

How much is rent in Gainesville, GA?

Zillow's metro-wide Observed Rent Index is $1,678 per month for 2026-06-30. That is up 0.84% from a year earlier.

Zillow ZORI$1,6782026-06-30

All homes and bedroom counts

Census ACS gross rent$1,341ACS 2024 5-year

Occupied rental units paying rent

HUD 2BR FMR$1,514FY2026 FMR

Two-bedroom standard

These figures are not averaged together. Zillow and Realtor describe asking-rent markets, ACS measures rent paid by surveyed households, and HUD publishes administrative bedroom standards.

Exact county schedules

HUD rent benchmarks inside Gainesville

Every row keeps its own county FIPS schedule. No county is selected as a metro proxy and no synthetic metro FMR is calculated.

FY2026 FMR · FY2026 · monthly gross-rent standards
CountyStudio1 BR2 BR3 BR4 BR
Hall County, GAFIPS 13139$1,177$1,381$1,514$1,834$2,127
The read

Why this market scores where it does

Gainesville merits selective investigation by income-focused buyers who can negotiate and accept muted growth; investors dependent on quick appreciation or aggressive rent increases should avoid it. The $392,587 median value fell 1.82%, while 33.27% of listings had price cuts.

Buyer leverage is visible in a median 47 days on market and 4.4 months of supply, but operating upside is limited: median asking rent is $1,678, rent growth was 0.84%, and gross yield is 5.13%. Rent consumes 24.89% of median income, while the price-to-income ratio is 4.85.

The main tension is modest job growth of 0.29% alongside heavy permitting at 11.39 per thousand residents. That combination raises lease-up and resale competition risk despite positive net migration. Climate is the strongest component signal, but inland flood remains the dominant hazard and requires property-level diligence.

Frequently Asked Investor Questions

What evidence suggests room to negotiate?
The median value is $392,587, down 1.82%; median market time is 47 days, supply is 4.4 months, and 33.27% of listings had price drops.
What does the record show about rental economics?
Median asking rent is $1,678, the fair-market rent for a two-bedroom home is $1,514, gross yield is 5.13%, and rent-to-income is 24.89%.
What climate risk is identified?
Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the annual climate loss ratio is 0.001122 of building value; property-level flood exposure is not published.

Investor Quick Takeaways

Gross Yield: 5.1%

Computed from the current Zillow rent and home-value medians.

Rent Momentum: ▲ 0.84%

Zillow ZORI rent growth trend over trailing 12 months.

Investor Activity: 10.3%

Originated investment purchase share (CFPB HMDA).

Climate Exposure: FEMA NRI

Annualized loss ratio evaluated for flood & hurricane risk.

Run Cash-Flow Test for Gainesville
Market pulse

The current market in eight signals

Fast-moving Redfin conditions sit beside the slower fundamentals so a buyer can separate today's negotiating climate from the long-run investment case.

Months of supply4.4 mo.▲ from 3.8 mo. a year ago
Median days on market47 days▼ from 51 days a year ago
Listings with price drops33.3%▼ from 33.4% a year ago
Sale-to-list ratio97.4%2026-05-01
Home value growth▼ 1.8%Zillow ZHVI · trailing 12 months
Rent growth▲ 0.84%Zillow ZORI · trailing 12 months
Gross rental yield5.1%Rent × 12 ÷ price
Payroll job growth▲ 0.3%CES · 12m to 2026-06
Release-to-release evidence

What actually changed

This comparison exists because at least one underlying source period advanced. Rebuilding the same data never creates a new observation.

Published score held steady4141
0 pts

The published component scores did not move in this release.

Weights were unchanged at metro-2026-07-v2-omb2023, so the movement comes from refreshed evidence and percentile ranks.

The named source periods advanced, but the measured values on this page held steady.

Composite breakdown

What each component measures

Weights are published, not hidden, and the arithmetic is shown. Five components, each measured as a national percentile across all tracked metros.

Jobs58Rent trend14Affordability48Supply9Climate safety75
Published arithmeticComponent × weight = points
41
SignalScoreWeightPoints
Job growth5830%17.40
Rent trend1425%3.50
Affordability4815%7.20
Supply pressure915%1.35
Climate risk7515%11.25
Published score41
Gainesville, GA scoreRank #403
41
Job growth58/100

Job growth is 0.29% -> employment momentum offers little buffer for rental demand.

Rent trend14/100

Rent growth is 0.84% and gross yield is 5.13% -> income underwriting should remain conservative.

Affordability48/100

Rent is 24.89% of median income while price is 4.85 times income -> affordability is mixed between tenants and buyers.

Supply pressure9/100

Permitting is 11.39 per thousand residents -> prospective inventory is a material competitive concern.

Climate risk75/100

The annual climate loss ratio is 0.001122 of building value and inland flood is the dominant hazard -> aggregate losses are limited, but asset-level water exposure still needs review.

The numbers

What this market costs and what it earns

Every derived ratio below recomputes from the same source record used by the article and score.

ZHVI Median Price
$393k
YoY ▼ 1.8%
ZORI Median Rent
$1,678
YoY ▲ 0.84%
Gross Rental Yield
5.1%
Rent × 12 ÷ price
$1,678 × 12 ÷ $392,587
Job Growth (YoY)
▲ 0.3%
CES payrolls
Job signal 58/100
Median Household Income
$81k
Census ACS 5-year
Rent Burden
24.9%
Annual rent ÷ household income
Price-to-Income
4.8x
Median value ÷ household income
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent
$1,514
Market rent 110.8% of FMR
Historical affordability context

Compare aligned 2019 and 2024 asking-rent and nominal household-income endpoints across the direct-overlap metro set.

Independent rent evidence

One market, several legitimate rent benchmarks

These releases observe different homes and different moments. RentMarker keeps them separate: ZORI remains the scoring baseline, while the other sources test how sensitive the market story is to bedroom mix and measurement method.

Monthly benchmark4 of 4 reported values
Zero-based scale
Monthly rental benchmarksIndependent monthly rent measures shown on a zero-based scale. Missing source values are labelled unavailable and are not inferred.$0$438$875$1,313$1,750Zillow ZORI2026-06-30$1,678HUD 1BR FMRFY2026 FMR$1,381HUD 2BR FMRFY2026 FMR$1,514Census ACS gross rentACS 2024 5-year$1,341Monthly rental benchmarksIndependent monthly rent measures shown on a zero-based scale. Missing source values are labelled unavailable and are not inferred.$0$875$1,750Zillow ZORI2026-06-30$1,678HUD 1BR FMRFY2026 FMR$1,381HUD 2BR FMRFY2026 FMR$1,514ACS gross rentACS 2024 5-year$1,341
The chart compares published levels without averaging them. A longer bar does not mean a source is more accurate; it means that source measures a higher rent under its own definition.
Typical observed market rentZillow ZORI
$1,678Primary RentMarker baseline
2026-06-30

All homes and bedroom counts

A smoothed metro rent index for observed rentals; it is the primary rent used by RentMarker scores and career ratios.

View source release ↗
Fair Market RentHUD 1BR FMR
$1,381−$297 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR

One-bedroom standard

An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.

View source release ↗
Fair Market RentHUD 2BR FMR
$1,514−$164 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR

Two-bedroom standard

An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.

View source release ↗
Median gross rentCensus ACS gross rent
$1,341−$337 vs ZORI
ACS 2024 5-year

Occupied rental units paying rent

A five-year survey estimate of contract rent plus applicable tenant-paid utilities; it is not a current asking-rent index.

View source release ↗
Take the next step

Keep Gainesville as context, then replace market-wide evidence with the candidate property's facts.

Direct local rental evidence

Recent leases and rental-market liquidity in Gainesville, GA

These Apartment List observations match the exact metro CBSA code 23580. They are kept separate from Zillow asking rent, Census occupied-home rent and property-level comparables.

Direct recent-lease rent history

Monthly overall-rent index; missing observations are not filled from another geography.

$1,395$1,136$8762017-012026-07
Recent-lease rent$1,2612026-07 · +0.0% year over year
Rental vacancy8.2%2026-07 · -0.9 percentage points year over year
Time on marketn/an/a
Measured rent retention

How much of gross yield survives the first two measured deductions?

This bridge subtracts direct rental vacancy and effective property tax only. It is not net yield, NOI, cap rate or property cash flow.

Gross-to-retained yield bridgeApartment List 2026-07
Gross yield bridged to measured rent-retention yieldGross yield of 5.1%, less property-tax drag of 0.7% and vacancy drag of 0.4%, leaves measured rent retention of 4.0%.4.0%5.1%RETAINEDGROSS
measured retention property tax vacancy
Gross yield
5.1%
Vacancy
8.2%
Effective tax
0.7%
Retained yield
4.0%
Regional price level

What feels expensive inside Gainesville

BEA compares each category with the United States, which equals 100. This is a 2024 price-level comparison—not annual inflation.

BEA Regional Price Parities · 2024US = 100
Regional price parity categories for Gainesville, GAHorizontal bars compare all-items, housing, goods, utilities and other-services price levels with the United States benchmark of 100.8090100110All items96.8Housing93.5Goods96.3Utilities89.6Other services98.7
Orange extends above the national level; emerald extends below it. The chart does not convert rent or income into purchasing power.
Occupation wage lens

How asking rent sits against major local occupations

Annualized Zillow asking rent is divided by each BLS annual median wage. This is a screening ratio for one wage, not a household budget or affordability verdict.

Six largest published major groupsannual rent ÷ median wage
Annualized asking rent compared with major occupational median wages in Gainesville, GAHorizontal bars show annualized Zillow asking rent as a share of the BLS annual median wage for six major occupational groups with the largest published employment.0%10%20%30%40%50%60%Production Occupations$41,080 median wage49.0%Transportation and MaterialMoving Occupations$41,380 median wage48.7%Office and AdministrativeSupport Occupations$44,510 median wage45.2%Healthcare Practitioners andTechnical Occupations$87,690 median wage23.0%Sales and Related Occupations$35,990 median wage55.9%Food Preparation and ServingRelated Occupations$28,810 median wage69.9%
Production Occupations$41,080 median wage
49.0%
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations$41,380 median wage
48.7%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$44,510 median wage
45.2%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations$87,690 median wage
23.0%
Sales and Related Occupations$35,990 median wage
55.9%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$28,810 median wage
69.9%
BLS OEWS 2025-05; Zillow rent 2026-06-30. The 30% line is a visible screen, not a RentMarker score or a claim about household costs.
Supply pipeline

What is being built, and for whom

Permits are the 12-to-24 month early warning. The total matters less than the mix: apartments compete with a rental the day they open.

National supply context

Compare this authorization pipeline with asking-rent growth, jobs and for-sale liquidity across the evidence-complete metro set.

Building permits by structure type
units per year · latest year annualised
Download CSV ↓
1,42920191,67720202,16720212,02120221,28420232,26720241,97820252,40420265+ unit buildingssingle family
2,404 units authorised in 2026, 12% of them in 5+ unit buildings. This is a single-family building cycle, so the competition is other houses, not new apartments. ✓ recomputed from series
Source: Census Building Permits Survey
Who is arriving, and who is buying

Demand, and the competition for it

Tax filings say how many households moved and what they earn; mortgage disclosures say how many local purchases went to someone who will not live there. Moves between counties inside this metro are netted out of both flow figures.

Net Household Move
+731
6,993 in vs 6,262 out (IRS SOI)
▲ 10.5% of arriving households
Mover Income Gap
+$7,455
Arriving $78,067 vs leaving $70,612
Average AGI per tax return (IRS SOI)
Investor Purchase Share
10.3%
246 of 2,386 originated purchase loans
CFPB HMDA 2024
Dominant Hazard
inland flooding
0.112% building value annual loss ratio
FEMA NRI · risk type: water
Compare yield and FEMA exposure →
Households arrive mainly from: Gwinnett County · Forsyth County · Jackson County · Fulton County · Barrow County
6,993 in − 6,262 out = 731 net
Direct market links

Where tax-return households moved from and to

These are the largest flows where both counties map to a RentMarker market area. They are a documented subset of the all-US IRS totals above.

Explore every route
Leading inbound markets
  1. Atlanta, GA3,662 arriving
  2. Jefferson, GA363 arriving
  3. Miami, FL103 arriving
Leading outbound markets
  1. Atlanta, GA2,402 leaving
  2. Jefferson, GA613 leaving
  3. Athens, GA147 leaving
The other side

What would make this a bad buy

Generated from the same figures with the instruction to argue against the score, and published unedited. A page that only agrees with itself is an advertisement.

Three ways the case breaks

  1. Median value fell 1.82% while rent rose 0.84%, leaving both valuation and income momentum weak.
  2. Job growth was 0.29% against 2,422 permits, leaving demand-supply alignment uncertain.
  3. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and property-level exposure is not published.
Statistical peers

Market areas that behave like Gainesville

Nearest neighbours on price level, income, yield and job growth — not on geography. Every market page gets a different peer set, which is the point.

Market areaScorePriceRentYieldJob Growth
Gainesville, GA (Target)41$393k$1,6785.1%▲ 0.3%
Crestview, FL35$442k$1,9875.4%▲ 0.4%
Sioux Falls, SD63$344k$1,3104.6%▲ 0.3%
Medford, OR40$442k$1,8415.0%▲ 0.1%
Bismarck, ND61$360k$1,3714.6%▲ 0.3%
Provenance

Where every figure came from

“Checked nightly” means every source is re-pulled and re-verified each night. It does not mean every source moves nightly — the release column tells you how fresh each number can possibly be.

Dataset SourceMethodRelease PeriodPulled Date
Census ACS 5-year — household income and gross rentdirectACS 2024 5-year2026-08-05
Census ACS 5-year — historical household incomedirectACS 2019 and 2024 5-year2026-08-05
Census ACS 5-year — populationdirectACS 2024 5-year2026-07-26
Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent indexdirectApartment List 2026-072026-08-08
Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquiditydirectApartment List 2026-072026-08-08
Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancydirectApartment List 2026-072026-08-08
BEA County Personal Income — income and populationdirect2024 County Personal Income (released 2026-02-05); history 1969-20242026-08-03
BEA Regional Price Parities — metropolitan price levelsdirect2024 Regional Price Parities (released 2026-02-19); history 2008-20242026-08-03
BLS CES — payroll employmentdirectCES SM current2026-07-26
BLS LAUS — resident employmentdirectLAUS current2026-07-26
BLS OEWS — occupation employment and wagesdirectMay 2025 OEWS estimates (released 2026-05-15)2026-08-03
BLS QCEW — county employment and wagesdirectannual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 20242026-08-02
OMB/BLS delineation — metro geographydirectOMB July 2023 delineation2026-07-30
Census Building Permits Survey — permitted unitsdirectBPS through 20262026-07-26
Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housingdirectACS 2024 5-year2026-07-29
Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stockdirectACS 2024 5-year2026-07-30
Census ACS 5-year — cities and communitiesdirectACS 2024 5-year2026-07-30
Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and incomedirectACS 2024 5-year ZCTA2026-08-08
FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratiosmodelledNRI counties (FEMA ArcGIS)2026-07-26
FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciationdirectannual county HPI history 1975-2025; latest 20252026-08-02
HMDA / CFPB — purchases by occupancy typedirectHMDA 2024 purchase originations2026-07-26
HUD CHAS — renter burden by HAMFI income banddirectHUD CHAS 2018-2022 ACS 5-year (released 2025-12-23)2026-08-03
HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standarddirectFY2026 FMR2026-07-26
HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallbackdirectZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY20262026-07-26
HUD-USPS ZIP-to-county residential-address crosswalkdirectHUD-USPS 2026Q12026-08-09
IRS SOI — county migration and mover incomedirectSOI migration 2022-20232026-07-26
Freddie Mac PMMS — mortgage ratesdirectweek of 2026-07-302026-08-06
Census ACS 5-year — effective property taxdirectACS 2024 5-year2026-08-06
Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventorydirectcounty inventory 2026-062026-07-28
Realtor.com Rental Report — top-50 asking rentsdirecttop-50 rental asking rents 2026-052026-08-05
Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cutsdirectmetro tracker through 2026-05-012026-07-26
Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supplydirectZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-032026-08-12
USDA ERS — Rural-Urban Continuum CodesdirectUSDA ERS 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes2026-08-02
Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rentsdirectcounty ZHVI/ZORI 2026-062026-07-26
Zillow ZHVI — metro home valuesdirectMetro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv2026-07-26
Zillow ZHVI — city home valuesdirectzillow_zhvi_city.csv2026-07-29
Zillow ZORI — metro market rentsdirectMetro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv2026-07-26
Zillow ZORI — city market rentsdirectzillow_zori_city.csv2026-07-29
Zillow ZORI - metro market rents, not seasonally adjusteddirectMetro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv2026-08-15
Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rentsdirectZORI ZIP 2026-062026-08-08