Is Gainesville, FL Safe?
Gainesville, FL has a Safety Score of 61/100 (grade C). Violent crime is 30% above the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Safety Context Score: 61/100 (Grade C)
CrimeContext scores Gainesville on a 0-100 scale that weights per-capita violent crime against the national average (40%), per-capita property crime (30%), and the 5-year direction of total crime (30%). A grade of C means Gainesville sits roughly in line with the typical U.S. city once population is taken into account. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
We never display raw crime counts. A large city will always log more total incidents than a small town; the only fair comparison is the rate per 100,000 residents, which is what every number on this page uses.
Gainesville Crime Rates per 100,000 vs National Average
| Crime Type | Gainesville | National Avg | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 473.5 | 363.8 | +30% |
| Property Crime | 2228.1 | 1832.3 | +22% |
| Murder | 9.5 | 5.7 | +67% |
| Robbery | 108.9 | 73.0 | +49% |
| Aggravated Assault | 322.0 | 246.4 | +31% |
| Burglary | 334.2 | 269.8 | +24% |
| Larceny-Theft | 1737.9 | 1401.9 | +24% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 356.5 | 318.3 | +12% |
| 5-Year Trend | -7.0% | ||
| Population | 141,085 | ||
All values are incidents per 100,000 residents (FBI UCR/NIBRS). Per-capita rates only — never raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gainesville, FL has a Safety Score of 61/100 (grade C). Violent crime is 30% above the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Gainesville, FL has a violent crime rate of 473.5 per 100,000 residents (30% above the U.S. average of 363.8) and a property crime rate of 2228.1 per 100,000 (22% above the U.S. average of 1832.3). All figures are per-capita rates, never raw counts.
Gainesville has a murder rate of 9.5 per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 5.7. Like every figure here, this is a per-capita rate — raw homicide counts without population context can badly mislead.
Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years. Over the past 5 years, the total crime rate in Gainesville has changed by -7.0%.
Violent crime in Gainesville is 30% above the U.S. average and property crime is 22% above average. Gainesville's overall Safety Context Score is 61/100 (grade C).
More about Gainesville
Gainesville, FL has a Safety Score of 61/100 (grade C). Violent crime is 30% above the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
The data source behind this answer is the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset. Every figure on the page traces back to that source; the methodology page describes the inputs and the refresh cadence in full detail.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2026.