Winter Garden vs Alexandria

Which is the better fit for you?

Winter Garden, FL
59
Area Score
Top 48% nationally
Alexandria, VA
60
Area Score
Top 46% nationally

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Alexandria receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Winter Garden to Alexandria

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Everyday prices
8% higher
Regional price level 109.5 against 101.6 (US = 100)
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Enter your household income to see it.
A new two-bedroom lease
+$390 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $2,740 in Alexandria against $2,350 in Winter Garden.
The median home
54% more
$735,100 in Alexandria against $476,000 in Winter Garden.
The weather you would swap
Winters 22°F colder
Normal January lows are 30°F in Alexandria against 52°F in Winter Garden; July highs are 90°F against 92°F (summers 2°F cooler).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

31 occupations have a published median wage in both places. Start typing, or choose from the list.

Median wages are the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ metro figures for that occupation, not a job offer, and the price level is the regional index; neither includes taxes, benefits or how senior you are.

Signals

Winter Garden
Alexandria
Opportunity: Alexandria is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
59 · Top 43%
vs
64 · Top 34%
Growth
61 · Top 27%
vs
61 · Top 28%
Climate: Winter Garden is the more favorable of the two.
Climate
80 · Top 17%
vs
72 · Top 42%
Physical resilience: Alexandria is the more favorable of the two.
Physical resilience
47 · Bottom 39%
vs
60 · Top 48%
Housing affordability: Winter Garden is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
65 · Bottom 47%
vs
64 · Bottom 45%
Schools: Winter Garden is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
31 · Bottom 26%
vs
18 · Bottom 10%
Access: Winter Garden is the more favorable of the two.
Access
94 · Top 44%
vs
91 · Bottom 46%
Economic stability: Alexandria is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
61 · Top 45%
vs
72 · Top 19%

Measured values

MetricWinter GardenAlexandriaSource period
Population47,872156,9762024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income$106,495$119,681 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$46,282$79,474 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Population density2,921/sq mi10,511/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$476,000$735,1002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent — the two are too close to separate$1,963 ±$217$2,089 ±$322024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$2,350 — more favorable$2,740FY2026
Cost of living index101.6 — more favorable109.52023
Homeownership rate65.7%42.1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate4.2%3.2% — more favorableJuly 2026
Employment change (year over year)−0.5% — more favorable−2.4%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher46.1%66.2% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate — the two are too close to separate9.7% ±3%7.2% ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)12760912 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents2.73.9 — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)+95.4%+2668.2%12 months ending July 2026
Average July high92°F90°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low52°F30°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation51.5"41.8"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport19 mi — more favorable22 miNASR current cycle
Average commute — the two are too close to separate29.4 min ±1.6 min30.8 min ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age40.137.72024 ACS 5-Year
Students per teacher18.315.2 — more favorable2024-25 school year
Math proficiency53.4%68.6%2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency53.3%69.1%2018-19 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

3 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise. This is common on these pages by construction: Winter Garden and Alexandria were paired because they are alike, and the more alike two places are, the less a sample of this size can tell them apart.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

Florida and Virginia do not give the same test. Each state writes its own assessment and sets its own passing score, so the two proficiency rows above are not directly comparable — the difference between them partly measures which standard is harder. Students per teacher and the school count are unaffected, and each profile ranks its own proficiency within its own state.

Physical risk tradeoff

Winter Garden

Elevated or high exposure: strong wind, hurricane.

Alexandria

No hazard reaches elevated exposure.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Winter Garden
—
Winter Garden: Your Score
59
Area Score
Alexandria
—
Alexandria: Your Score
60
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Winter Garden, FL · Alexandria, VA · How this is calculated: methodology