Cumming vs Gainesville

Cumming and Gainesville are two towns that I get questions about constantly. They have a few similarities, and some major differences that are very important when choosing which one to move to. Today I thought I would put these two popular towns head to head, and let you decide who is the “winner”. Both of these towns sit on Lake Lanier which makes them highly desirable To live in, but there are some big differences when it comes to price, schools, and town amenities.  

Let’s talk about schools first. Cumming is located in Forsyth county, which is notorious for its incredible schools. They have several schools that are rated an eight or a nine on niche.com which is a website that many people use to decide what school systems they want to send their kids to.

Precise county schools are rated number to best school districts in Georgia according to that same website, which is a huge advantage of living in Cumming. The schools in Gainesville and Hall county are good, don’t get me wrong, but they do not have the same ratings that Forsyth county schools do.

I most definitely believe that you can send your kid to school in Hall county and they can get an amazing education, I actually taught in the county myself. However, schools are not necessarily something that people will relocate to Gainesville with the sole purpose of attending, Unless it is for athletics. There are some amazing athletic programs in the Gainesville hall county area, like Gainesville high school and North Hall high school. But Cumming definitely takes the cake when it comes to higher rated schools. 

If schools are important to you, I’m sure the cost of living at home prices is! Homes in general and Cumming are more expensive by far than they are in the majority of Gainesville, and not only our home price is more expensive, but so is the overall cost of living. On a scale based on the US average of 100, the cost of living in Cumming has a score of 116.1, which is obviously 16.1 points higher than the national average. This is one of the highest levels in the state of Georgia, and much much higher than Gainesville. Gainesville comes in 26.5 points lower than Cumming, which is a huge difference. This number comes from housing prices, the cost of utilities, taxes, etc.

The median listing price of homes in Cumming is $470,000 with the median sold price of $440,000. In Gainesville on the other hand, the median listing home price is $299,500. The median sold home price is $330,000. That’s not to say that there aren’t more expensive homes in Gainesville, which there most certainly are, especially closer to downtown, but the median home price is much, much lower than it is in Cumming. I will give this round to Gainesville for it’s lower home prices and lower overall cost of living.

If you are big into shopping, Cumming might be a little bit more appealing to you. They have tons and tons of shopping, from little small business boutiques, too big box stores, to more higher end retailers that are typically only located near bigger cities. There are several huge shopping areas, like the Collection at Forsyth, Cumming market Place, Cumming 400 Shopping Center, and the list goes on. They have just about every store and restaurant that you can think of and Cumming, it is definitely more built out than Gainesville is when it comes to shopping. And you are only about 15 minutes from the popular Avalon or Halcyon in Alpharetta. These are two great outdoor shopping venues with a ton of great local restaurants and is a popular destination for families and people of all ages. 

Of course Gainesville has great restaurants and shopping as well, but not nearly as much. Gainesville has the downtown Square which features a lot of smaller businesses, and local breweries which makes the town a lot more unique and charming in my opinion, you can check out Downtown Drafts on the square or my favorite, Cork It. Of course Gainesville also have target, Walmart, TJ Maxx, and all of your other retail stores and chain restaurants that you’re used to, But there are a few less options then you would have in Cumming. I don’t think that Gainesville should be docked a point for this, but I do definitely think that Cumming has more options if you are big into shopping and retail. And of course, Gainesville is closer to the Mall of Georgia in Buford which is about 20-30 minutes away. You’re also close to the new Top Golf in Buford as well. 

When it comes to housing, you are going to have more options in Gainesville, because it is bigger size wise, but both towns are growing and expanding and adding more new construction neighborhoods. I just recently talked about new construction in and around Gainesville and how difficult it is to actually get a new construction home under contract these days, but it is possible. Obviously like I mentioned earlier home prices in Cumming are much higher, and there’s also a lot less resale homes in Cumming then there is in Gainesville. You will definitely have more options in Gainesville, and the prices will be a lot lower. Cumming is very popular for commuters, Georgia 400 runs through Cumming and will take you straight into Atlanta- commuting is never super fast these days with all the construction and road work, but Cumming is definitely an easier place to commute to the city from then Gainesville and is a popular location for people to live who commute to the Alpharetta area.  

Something that both of these towns have that is a huge selling point is convenient access to Lake Lanier. Both towns sit on Lake Lanier with Cumming being on the southwest side of the lake, and Gainesville being on the northeast side of the lake. Obviously that means there is a plethora of outdoor activities to do in both of these towns, Between the lake, and public parks that they both have quite a few of. If you are big into water sports, kayaking, hiking, anything that has to do with being outdoors, these are both great places to live because you Can take advantage of all the shopping restaurants and businesses in town, but also quickly run to the lake and enjoy the outdoors. 

And it goes without mentioning, when it comes to the names of the towns–Gainesville wins that one hands down. 

So what do you think? Would you rather live in coming and pay a little bit more but have more shopping and restaurants, and be closer to Atlanta, or would you rather pay a little less and live in Gainesville and enjoy a little bit more charm?

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