Gainesville, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gainesville is a city in Hall County in Georgia, United States of America. The population was 25,578 at the 2000 census. Census estimates for 2005 show a population of 32,444. The city is the county seat of Hall County^GR6. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the chicken capital of the world. Gainesville is the principal city of and is included in the Gainesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Georgia-Alabama (part) Combined Statistical Area.

1 Geography
2 Climate
3 Demographics
4 Transportation
5 Notable residents
6 Sister cities
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Gainesville is located at 34°18′16″N, 83°50′2″W (34.304490, -83.833897)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 75.4 km² (29.1 mi²). 70.1 km² (27.1 mi²) of it is land and 5.2 km² (2.0 mi²) of it (6.94%) is water.

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, parts of Gainesville lie along the shore of one of the nation's most popular inland water destinations, Lake Lanier. Named after Georgia author and musician Sidney Lanier. the lake was created in 1948 when The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Chattahoochee River near Buford, Georgia and flooded an Appalachian mountain valley. Although created primarily as a reservoir providing water to the city of Atlanta, Lake Lanier is also a very popular recreational attraction for all of North Georgia.

[edit] Climate

Gainesville has a subtropical climate with mild winters and hot summers. Winter is mild with average highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's although colder and warmer periods occur. Spring is pleasant with highs in the 70's and 80's with lows in the 40's and 50's although march is the wettest month of the year on average. Summer can be oppressive with average highs reaching the low 90's combined with humidity can put heat indexes into the 100's. Fall has temperatures similar to spring but with much less humidity, especially later in the season. In late October to November the leaves are in the midst of changing colors to brilliant reds, yellows, golden oranges, purples; all shades of mountain beauty.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 25,578 people, 8,537 households, and 5,438 families residing in the city. The population density was 364.7/km² (944.4/mi²). There were 9,076 housing units at an average density of 129.4/km² (335.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.21% White, 15.73% African American, 0.30% Native American, 2.69% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 14.27% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.17% of the population.

There were 8,537 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 15.1% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,605, and the median income for a family was $43,734. Males had a median income of $24,729 versus $25,075 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,128. About 16.1% of families and 21.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.9% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.