Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua County, Florida, and the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population of Gainesville in the 2013 US Census]was 127,488, a 2.4% growth from 2010. Gainesville is the largest city in the region of North Central Florida. In addition, it is also a component of the Gainesville-Lake City Combined Statistical Area, which had a 2013 population of 337,925.