Welcome to Gainesville, Florida!

Gainesville! The city and community have received a number of accolades in the last decade. 
 
Gainesville was ranked in September 1995 (a little more than a decade ago) by Money Magazine as the Number One city to live in America and continues annually to be ranked near the top as one of Florida's most livable cities. In 2003 it was designated by the Wellness Council of America as the nation’s first Gold Level Well City. That was a result of more than half of the community’s total workforce participating in wellness activities and programs. Also in 2003, the AARP ranked Gainesville as the 11th best place in the country for people to retire.  Gainesville has been recognized as Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation, a Top Ten Bicycling community by Bicycling Magazine and one of America's great running towns by Runner's World Magazine.
 
Most recently, Gainesville was ranked No. 1 by Cities Ranked & Rated, Second Edition, a guide published by Frommer’s that ranks more than 300 cities and metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada.
 
As the Alachua County seat, Gainesville serves as the commercial hub for the North Central Florida area. It is home to the University of Florida, the state’s largest and oldest university, supporting higher education, medicine, cultural arts and sports for the area.

The city of Gainesville has a council-manager form of government.  The mayor is elected at-large. Six city commissioners sit on the council with the mayor, four elected in single-member districts and two elected at-large. The city has a population of 117,182, based on 2003 data.
 
Sports fans from all over flock to the University of Florida (UF) to enjoy football, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, baseball, softball and so many other great Gator events. Most recently, the men’s basketball team won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, and the football team won the national championship in 2007. Visitors and residents also have available to them world class healthcare facilities, including Shands at UF, North Florida Regional Medical Center and the Veterans Administration Hospital.
 
And don't forget, UF fans...Go Gators!