While men's and women's haircuts cost 9 percent and 20 percent below the state average, safety deposit box fees are 36 percent higher. All together, the price level in Gainesville is 94 percent of the Florida average. Adjusting both for occupation and for the cost of living, the purchasing power of Gainesville wages is about 1 percent above the state average and about 6 percent below the national average. Since Gainesville has a warm climate, little pollution, is near great beaches and has opportunities for recreation on the water, it does not seem unreasonable that workers would be happy to accept 6 percent lower purchasing power to work here. We also found most workers prefer smaller cities.
Large cities have a wider variety of goods and activities, but congestion is worse as well.
The congestion effect is stronger. This preference for less populous cities is consistent with the movement away from large cities observed in recent decades. Adjusting for the price level and the quality of life, Gainesville enjoys a 4 percent wage advantage relative to other cities on average. Given price level and quality of life adjustments, wages in Gainesville are around 3 percent to 7 percent higher than in Miami, Ocala, Orlando, and Tallahassee. With a model of downtown Gainesville in the foreground, Florida Community Design Ceneter executive board members discuss the purpose and function of the Design Center which is looking at the redevelopment of the area surrounding Depot Ave.