A city of 145,702, settled in 1853. Home to 44 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 3 things Gainesville does most differently from other towns.
1878–1903 · Gainesville-Florida-1878 a 190312 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 44 places on the National Register.
1917
Airplanes - Materials - Manufacturing castor oil. View of plant of Gillett Oil Co., Gainesville, Fla., showing left to …
Photo · Wikimedia Commons. A different picture from Gainesville’s archive appears here every day.
See all 12 archive items →Be the first to start the conversation.
Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Gainesville. Another town gets a different order.
53% of Gainesville’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Jacksonville (5%), Alachua (3%) and Tallahassee (1%). Half commute less than 5 miles.
58 miles of trails across 61 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Morningside Nature Center | 5.1 mi | 406 |
| 2. Sweetwater Wetlands Park | 3.7 mi | 257 |
| 3. Split Rock Conservation Area | 3.1 mi | 239 |
Gainesville beats the Florida average on 11 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 7.
| What stands out | Gainesville | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.5% | 7.5% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 21.3% | 15.8% |
The typical Gainesville home is worth about $296,000, down 1.2% in a year, 21% below the Florida typical home.
The public schools Gainesville’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 55% of Florida’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Littlewood Elementary School | PK–5 | 714 | B+ |
| William S. Talbot Elem School | PK–5 | 573 | A− |
| C. W. Norton Elementary School | PK–5 | 540 | B− |
| Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary | K–5 | 501 | B− |
| W. A. Metcalfe Elementary School | K–5 | 463 | C− |
| Glen Springs Elementary School | K–5 | 429 | B− |
Gainesville has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 92°, a January night drops to 43°, and snow is almost unheard of.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.
Gainesville's reported crime rate is well above Florida's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 1,085 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
3 colleges in town.
44 places in Gainesville on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Florida, United States
Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous city in North Central Florida with a population of 141,085 at the 2020 census, while the Gainesville metropolitan area has an estimated 360,000 residents. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the third-largest public university campus by enrollment in the United States as of the 2023–2024 academic year. The university is represented by the Florida Gators sports teams in NCAA competitions.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Gainesville.
