City · Alachua County, Florida

Hawthorne, Florida

Hawthorne is a city in Alachua County, Florida, part of the Gainesville, FL metro area. It has 1,625 residents. Hawthorne, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 37 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,877 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #475 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), rent-burdened households (high) and rent as share of income (high).

37Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,877 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #475 of 780 in FL
Population: 1,625 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 219.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 1229275

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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
Economy32#10,568/15,631
Housing11#13,264/14,977
Health41#9,224/15,609
Healthcare72#4,411/15,650
Environment78#3,459/15,453
Education56#6,833/15,649
Infrastructure1#15,528/15,650
Community43#8,923/15,651
Leisure & amenities66#5,282/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hawthorne, 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
Unemployment rate · low1.0%
92/100Florida 3.9%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Comfortable days · high33.3%
91/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAlachua County value
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
Rent-burdened households · high44.7%
6/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · high27.0%
7/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071High uncertainty
Frequent mental distress · high21.6%
7/100Florida 18.7%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · high15.3%
8/100Florida 9.8%United States 8.3%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · high29.3%
9/100Florida 17.9%United States 15.6%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
57.1% (2015-2019) → 82.1% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.4% (2015-2019) → 44.7% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
23.9% (2015-2019) → 9.1% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateImproving
12.8% (2015-2019) → 1.0% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.4% (2015-2019) → 28.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$35,893 (2015-2019) → $55,406 (2020-2024)
+54%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Hawthorne, Florida improved on 4 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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

Uninsured−15 points23.9% → 9.1%
Broadband+25 points57.1% → 82.1%
Bachelor's++12 points16.4% → 28.1%
Household income+54%$35,893 → $55,406

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Hawthorne, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.3 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	45%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.4%2015-2019	28.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	93%
Broadband subscriptions	57.1%2015-2019	82.1%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	95%
Child poverty rate	33.8%2015-2019	25.1%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Effective property tax rate	1.17%2015-2019	0.92%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	92.1%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4112015-2019	0.5032020-2024	+0.092	Within the margin of error	6%
Median household income	$35,8932015-2019	$55,4062020-2024	+54%	Improved	88%
Poverty rate	24.9%2015-2019	15.4%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.9%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	−15 points	Improved	99%

“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 Hawthorne, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hawthorne, 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, Hawthorne, Florida itself moved +4.1 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,625 residents (±323)

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

591 households (±117)

Hawthorne, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k18%†108
$25k–50k28%†165
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

591 households (±117)

Hawthorne, Florida
Florida share

Own68%403
Rent32%†188

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

684 workers (±178)

Hawthorne, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone82%560
Carpool6.4%†44
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 Hawthorne'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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Hawthorne 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.

Hawthorne, 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
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/1229275

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends