Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,135 at the 2020 census. The city has five of the nine prisons and state jails for women operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. One of the facilities, the Patrick O'Daniel Unit (formerly Mountain View Unit), has the state's death row for women.

Gatesville is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) metropolitan statistical area.

The city is located northeast of the center of Coryell County on the east side of the Leon River, part of the Brazos River watershed.

The city is 30 miles (48 km) from Waco. It is midway between Austin and Fort Worth.

U.S. Route 84 runs through the city, leading east 37 miles (60 km) to Waco and west 50 miles (80 km) to Goldthwaite. Texas State Highway 36 passes through the eastern side of the city, leading northwest 32 miles (51 km) to Hamilton and southeast 35 miles (56 km) to Temple.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Gatesville has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23.1 km), of which 0.004 square miles (0.01 km), or 0.05%, is covered by water.

Gatesville was established in 1854 on land donated by Richard G. Grant (1808–1858), shortly after the organization of Coryell County. The name was taken from Fort Gates, which had been established in 1849, approximately five miles west.

Gatesville was the western terminus of the Texas and St. Louis Railway, with the town having been reached in 1882. This line later became the core of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, commonly known as the Cotton Belt.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	434		—
1890	1,375		216.8%
1900	1,865		35.6%
1910	1,929		3.4%
1920	2,499		29.5%
1930	2,601		4.1%
1940	3,177		22.1%
1950	3,856		21.4%
1960	4,626		20.0%
1970	4,683		1.2%
1980	6,078		29.8%
1990	11,492		89.1%
2000	15,591		35.7%
2010	15,751		1.0%
2020	16,135		2.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

Gatesville racial composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race	Number	Percentage
White (NH)	9,347	57.93%
Black or African American (NH)	2,557	15.85%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	52	0.32%
Asian (NH)	102	0.63%
Pacific Islander (NH)	13	0.08%
Some Other Race (NH)	20	0.12%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)	440	2.73%
Hispanic or Latino	3,604	22.34%
Total	16,135

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,135 people, 1,986 households, and 1,151 families residing in the city.

As of the census of 2000, 15,591 people, 2,640 households, and 1,752 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,794.2 inhabitants per square mile (692.7/km). There were 2,963 housing units at an average density of 341.0 per square mile (131.7/km). The racial makeup of the city was 63.20% White, 27.00% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.49% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.73% of the population.

Of the 2,640 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were not families. About 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city, the age distribution was 11.7% under 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 53.9% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 63.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 59.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,534, and for a family was $36,543. Males had a median income of $30,625 versus $17,073 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,152. About 12.4% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Due to the establishment of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisons, from 1980 to 2010, the population doubled. As of 2000, about 9,000 of the 15,591 residents were state prisoners.

Two manufacturing companies are located in Gatesville:

• Kalyn Siebert is a company that makes heavy-haul trailers and equipment for construction, oilfield and energy, national defense, and other specialized transportation requirements.
• Laerdal Medical Corporation, a division of Laerdal based in Norway, is a manufacturer of plastic medical teaching supplies. The division, formerly known as Medical Plastics Laboratories, Inc., was founded in 1949 by three Gatesville doctors. In January 2000, it was sold to Laerdal.

Gatesville is the home of several prisons operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including the Patrick O'Daniel Unit, which houses the women's death row. Gatesville is located on the northern edge of Fort Cavazos, and as such is also dependent on the military for a part of its economy (besides Fort Cavazos, a large military vehicle repair facility is located on the east side of town).

As of 2012, the prisons in the Gatesville area employ 2,600 people. Most of the employees live in Coryell County. Timothy F. Orwig (born 1949) of the Cove Herald said, "Correctional officers in gray uniforms have been a common sight in the town's businesses for years, and the job of a 'prison boss' was once a highly regarded career choice in Gatesville."

Of the eight Texas Department of Criminal Justice general correctional facilities for women, which include five prisons and three state jails, five of the units, including four prisons and one state jail, are in the City of Gatesville.

The Christina Melton Crain Unit prison (formerly Gatesville Unit), the Hilltop Unit prison, the Dr. Lane Murray Unit prison, and the Linda Woodman Unit state jail are co-located amongst one another. In addition the Patrick O'Daniel Unit, a prison with the State of Texas female death row, is in Gatesville. One prison for males, the Alfred D. Hughes Unit, is in Gatesville. As of 2012, the 5,552 female prisoners and 2,958 male prisoners were over half of the population of the city.

Patrick O'Daniel Unit (then Mountain View Unit) opened in July 1975, Crain opened in August 1980, Hilltop opened in November 1981, and Hughes opened in January 1990. The Murray Unit opened in November 1995, and the Woodman Unit opened in June 1997.

Gatesville previously hosted the Gatesville State School and the Mountain View State School, juvenile correctional centers of the Texas Youth Commission. The Mountain View State School closed in 1975, and the Gatesville State School closed in 1979. The buildings were transferred to the Texas Department of Corrections and were used as prisons for adults.

The United States Postal Service operates the Gatesville Post Office.

The Gatesville Independent School District is the area school district.

Gatesville has a public library.

All of the county is in the service area of Central Texas College.

Since 2000, the Prison Boss Cookoff, a barbecue competition that serves as a fundraiser for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, has been held every year. Orwig described it as "a family gathering of prison workers."

Donated in 1991, the Coryell County Museum in Gatesville is home to the Loyd and Madge Mitchell Collection of about 10,000 pairs of spurs, thought to be the largest such collection in the world. In 2001, the 77th Texas Legislature designated Gatesville the "Spur Capital of Texas".

As of 2014, the Last Drive-In Picture Show in Gatesville, opened by Gene Palmer in 1955—and, as of 2004, owned by his son, Audie Gene Palmer (1957–2004)—is one of 17 remaining drive-in theaters in Texas; of those 17, it is one of oldest and longest continuously running.

The Gatesville High School Hornets were the 2000 Texas UIL 4A high-school football champions.

• Flat, Texas
• Gatesville Municipal Airport
• KYAR
• List of city nicknames in Texas
• My Ghost Story TV series location
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Coryell County, Texas
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, Waco Deanery
• Scott & White Memorial Hospital
• Stephenville North and South Texas Railway
• Texas locations by per capita income
• Texas State Guard, Army, 2nd Regiment, Gatesville
• Troop 1500, 2005 documentary film
• W.C. Dodson (1829–1914), architect of the Coryell County Courthouse in Gatesville
• 71st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade

• City of Gatesville official website
• Gatesville Chamber of Commerce
• Gatesville, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online