Gretna is in west-central Gadsden County at . The city limits have expanded south and west to encompass part of Interstate 10; the city is now bordered on the south by Greensboro. U.S. Route 90 passes through Gretna as Main Street; it leads southeast to Quincy, the Gadsden County seat, and northwest to Chattahoochee. Interstate 10 passes through the southwest part of Gretna, with access from Exit 174. I-10 leads east to Tallahassee and west to Pensacola. SR 12 leads southwest to Bristol, and SR 65 leads south to Hosford. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Gretna has a total area of, of which, or 0.13%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,709 people, 503 households, and 401 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 553 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 88.41% African American, 6.14% White, 0.18% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 4.68% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.65% of the population. There were 503 households, out of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couplesliving together, 31.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.84. In the city, the population was spread out, with 35.0% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,769, and the median income for a family was $26,176. Males had a median income of $20,819 versus $17,955 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,062. About 25.9% of families and 30.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.3% of those under age 18 and 24.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
The U.S. Postal Service operates the Gretna Post Office. The county government operates the Brenda A. Holt Gadsden County Gretna Public Safety Complex. The Gretna Volunteer Fire Department operates one fire station. The Gadsden Connector, a Big Bend Transit bus route, has a stop in Gretna.
