Gainesville recently became the first “Welcoming City” in Florida, with Alachua County being only the second Welcoming County in the state. This is incredibly fitting, as – according to the U.S. Census Bureau – about 15,000 Gainesville residents are not U.S. citizens. Gainesville is truly a diverse, multi-cultural city, primarily due to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. With UF having nearly 7,000 international students from 130 countries, and Santa Fe adding 1,000 to that, the two schools contribute greatly to the international makeup of Gainesville.