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Towns / Virginia

Gainesville, Virginia

Gainesville is an unincorporated community of about 18,200 people in Prince William County, Virginia, in the Washington area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 4.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Washington, is about 35 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Washington

Population
18,196
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$712,600
Prince William County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$174,410
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Washington area
108.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center
To Washington
35 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.9% above the U.S. average in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUVA Health Haymarket Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 35 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Gainesville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Gainesville runs into the built-up area around Washington (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$712,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Prince William County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,283 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$174,410U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
84%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,520 a yearVirginia: $2,790
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
39%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
108.9U.S. average = 100 (the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area, not Gainesville alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
18,196The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
58%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Professional and business services (24%); schools, health care and social services (16%); government (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
35 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
25%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center, Haymarket, VA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

7 public schools in Gainesville, run by Prince William County Public Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Ascent College (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Virginia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
93%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
99%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
24°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
40 a year
Nights at or below freezing
94 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.1 inches a year
Snow
20 inches a year
Elevation
373 feet

Weather stations: Manassas (9 miles away) and The Plains 2 NNE (9 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Alexandria, Washington.

Prince William County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Manassas National Battlefield Park4 miles
  • Prince William Forest Park16 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail22 miles
  • Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts22 miles
  • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park22 miles

Campus life. Check Ascent College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Gainesville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Gainesville?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Innovation, VA (unincorporated)1,034 people, 7 miles
  • Nokesville, VA (unincorporated)1,226 people, 8 miles
  • Bull Run Mountain Estates, VA (unincorporated)1,827 people, 8 miles
  • The Plains, VA261 people, 9 miles
  • Catlett, VA (unincorporated)290 people, 9 miles
  • Aldie, VA (unincorporated)163 people, 13 miles
  • Middleburg, VA699 people, 13 miles
  • Clifton, VA241 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.