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Hawthorne, Florida

Hawthorne is a small town of about 1,500 people in Alachua County, Florida. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Jacksonville, is about 58 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,505
up 1.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$177,800
Alachua County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$55,406
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Gainesville area
96.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Gainesville, FL
To Jacksonville
58 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.3% below the U.S. average in the Gainesville metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Hawthorne itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUf Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 58 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Hawthorne meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$177,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Alachua County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$727 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$55,406U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,594 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.7U.S. average = 100 (the Gainesville metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Gainesville metro area, not Hawthorne alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,5052020: 1,484
Median age
36.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
11%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (37%); government (13%); other services (9%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Uf Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville, FL, about 15 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Hawthorne, run by Alachua and Putnam.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
41°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
109 a year
Nights at or below freezing
17 a year
Rain and melted snow
55.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
143 feet

Weather station: Orange Springs 2SSW (11 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Uf Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville, Jacksonville.

Alachua County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Castillo de San Marcos National Monument51 miles
  • Fort Matanzas National Monument52 miles

Read about Hawthorne's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hawthorne?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • McIntosh, FL551 people, 13 miles
  • Micanopy, FL653 people, 13 miles
  • Waldo, FL814 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.