City · Alachua County, Florida

Alachua, Florida

Alachua is a city in Alachua County, Florida, part of the Gainesville, FL metro area. It has 10,743 residents. Alachua, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 58 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,625 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #231 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on dentists (high), primary care physicians (high) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), hot days (high) and dental care shortage (high).

58Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,625 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #231 of 780 in FL
Population: 10,743 (2020-2024)
Land area: 36 mi²
Density: 296.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1200375

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety34#10,353/15,637
Economy65#5,535/15,631
Housing31#10,376/14,977
Health76#3,735/15,609
Healthcare77#3,599/15,650
Environment78#3,459/15,453
Education70#4,699/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,181/15,650
Community43#8,923/15,651
Leisure & amenities66#5,282/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Alachua, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Alachua County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Dentists · high193 /100k
100/100Florida 65 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlachua County value
Primary care physicians · high151 /100k
99/100Florida 73 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlachua County value
Mental health providers · high695 /100k
96/100Florida 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlachua County value
Comfortable days · high33.3%
91/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAlachua County value
Unemployment rate · low1.4%
89/100Florida 3.9%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Florida 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlachua County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high99%
2/100Florida 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAAlachua County value
Hot days · high98 days
10/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAlachua County value
Dental care shortage · high17.0
12/100Florida 7.6United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAlachua County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Florida 7.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Broadband subscriptions · low86.0%
16/100Florida 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Rent-burdened households · high37.0%
19/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
9,867 (2015-2019) → 10,743 (2020-2024)
+8.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.0% (2015-2019) → 37.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
9.3 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeImproving
38.4% (2015-2019) → 28.2% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$63,318 (2015-2019) → $83,464 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
15.2% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
−5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Alachua, Florida improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Rent burden−23 points60.0% → 37.0%
Rent / income−10 points38.4% → 28.2%
Inequality−0.0900.508 → 0.418
Household income+32%$63,318 → $83,464

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Alachua, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.9 min2015-2019	24.3 min2020-2024	−3.6 min	Within the margin of error	83%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.3%2015-2019	41.2%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	87.7%2015-2019	86.0%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Child poverty rate	14.6%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Effective property tax rate	1.10%2015-2019	0.90%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
High school diploma or higher	94.5%2015-2019	95.6%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5082015-2019	0.4182020-2024	−0.090	Improved	94%
Median household income	$63,3182015-2019	$83,4642020-2024	+32%	Improved	59%
Poverty rate	15.2%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	38.4%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	93%
Rent-burdened households	60.0%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.2%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Alachua, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Alachua, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Alachua, Florida itself moved +12.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

10,743 residents (±44)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,551 households (±319)

Alachua, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k11%†491
$25k–50k12%†558
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,551 households (±319)

Alachua, Florida
Florida share

Own75%3,402
Rent25%†1,149

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,120 workers (±472)

Alachua, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone69%3,540
Carpool8.3%†424
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Gainesville, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Alachua County, the county holding most of Alachua's residents.

Alachua County has 6,721 employer establishments, 233 for every 10,000 residents (0.94× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Florida's), with 103,368 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,632. The Census Bureau also counts 25,285 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,721; 25,285 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 233; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 103,368
Average annual pay: $53,632; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Alachua County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	704	24.5	1.17×About typical	8,873	$67,668	1,937
Restaurants and other eating places	516	17.9	0.98×About typical	11,770	$21,860	110
Lessors of real estate	410	14.2	1.16×About typical	1,538	$54,610	2,350
Specialty trade contractors	346	12	0.78×Fewer than typical	4,190	$53,209	1,048
Services to buildings and dwellings	244	8.5	1.26×More than typical	1,774	$39,415	1,797
Limited-service restaurants	238	8.3	1.03×About typical	5,024	$19,034	35
Offices of physicians	238	8.3	1.28×More than typical	3,014	$90,485	370
Offices of other health practitioners	210	7.3	1.20×About typical	1,428	$45,312	740
Full-service restaurants	209	7.3	0.95×About typical	5,935	$24,488	46
Legal services	193	6.7	1.25×About typical	931	$77,594	216
Management, scientific and technical consulting	190	6.6	0.98×About typical	1,143	$64,563	1,212
Construction of buildings	188	6.5	0.86×About typical	1,156	$75,487	585

Rank places for an industry Open Alachua County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 287,873 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $2.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Alachua, Florida: $209 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.2M; −48% vs FY2025
Per resident: $209; US $1,994
Sole-source: 2.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 41%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Aeronautics and Space Administration$797.2K36%
Department of the Navy$754.6K34%
Federal Acquisition Service$313.4K14%
Defense Health Agency$187.2K8.3%
U.S. Geological Survey$99.9K4.5%
National Institutes of Health$84.4K3.8%
Food and Drug Administration$41K1.8%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$36.6K1.6%

Top recipients

JONES, EDMUNDS & ASSOCIATES, INC.$797.2K36%
METALLOY INDUSTRIES, INC.$765.4K34%
TAPESOUTH INC$311.4K14%
GREEN LANTERN, LLC$258.4K12%
ALCHEM LABORATORIES CORPORATION$99.3K4.4%

Spending by fiscal year

3.2MFY2017
8.4MFY2018
8.2MFY2019
22.3MFY2020
11.9MFY2021
2.2MFY2022
3.7MFY2023
313.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$797.4K36%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$271.2K12%
Basic chemical manufacturing · 3251$249.2K11%
Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production and processing · 3314$220.4K9.8%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$135K6.0%
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Alachua, Florida

MEDICAL GRADE BULK LIQUID OXYGEN FOR TAMC, HAWAII$209.9K
GREEN LANTERN, LLC· Alachua County, FL· Health & medical· Aug 25, 2025 – Apr 20, 2026· W81K0225FA121
FLANGE,PIPE$96.4K
METALLOY INDUSTRIES, INC.· Alachua County, FL· Other equipment & supplies· May 15, 2026 – May 15, 2026· N0010426PFD61
PIPE,METALLIC$73.7K
METALLOY INDUSTRIES, INC.· Alachua County, FL· Other equipment & supplies· May 1, 2026 – May 1, 2026· N0010426PNB47
PIPE,METALLIC$57.3K

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Alachua, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Alachua, Florida's figures are part of those of Alachua County, FL ($82.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Alachua is mostly in Alachua County.

See federal money in Alachua County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Alachua, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Kat CammackR-FL-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Alachua County67100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Gainesville, FL59

Other cities and towns in Alachua County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1200375

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends