Assis sits at the edge of Brazil’s Mata Atlântica‑Cerrado transition, a zone where coffee plantations give way to cattle ranches and smallholder farms. A morning ride on a rented bike along the old railway corridor reveals a patchwork of sugar‑cane fields, mango orchards and modest chapels that locals still use for family celebrations. The contrast is most striking after a summer rain, when the low‑lying pastures turn a vivid emerald and the scent of wet earth fills the air. Visitors who venture a few kilometres out of town can stop at a family‑run dairy for fresh queijo and hear stories of the region’s shift from timber extraction to diversified agriculture, a narrative rarely covered in guidebooks.
While Assis lacks the headline festivals of larger Brazilian metropoles, its cultural rhythm is anchored in the agricultural calendar. In June, the local agricultural cooperative organises a modest fair that showcases regional crafts—hand‑woven baskets from the Cerrado and woodcarvings reflecting the Atlantic forest’s fauna. The following month, a modest open‑air concert series on Jair Bolsonaro Avenue highlights folk groups from neighbouring municipalities, offering a glimpse into the musical dialects that differentiate this part of São Paulo state from the coastal samba scene. Timing a visit to coincide with these community‑led events provides a more intimate understanding of how the city’s identity is woven from the everyday lives of its residents.
Assis is a regional hub, but public transport options are limited beyond the main bus terminal. The most reliable way to explore the surrounding microregion is to hire a local driver who knows the unpaved routes that lead to historic coffee estates and the scattered waterfalls of the Serra do Mar interior. Alternatively, the state’s intercity bus lines run a modest schedule to São Paulo and Campo Grande; buying tickets a day in advance can secure a seat on the comfortable night service, turning a long journey into a chance to rest. For the eco‑conscious traveller, the city’s bike‑share programme, though small, offers an affordable means to glide along the newly paved riverside promenade.
This article is about the municipality of Assis. For other uses, see Assis (disambiguation). Municipality in Southeast, BrazilAssisMunicipalityAssis skyline at Rui Barbosa Avenue FlagCoat of armsLocation in São Paulo stateAssisLocation in BrazilCoordinates: 22°39′43″S 50°24′43″W / 22.66194°S 50.41194°W / -22.66194; -50.41194CountryBrazilRegionSoutheastStateSão PauloMesoregionAssisMicroregionAssisGovernment • MayorTelma Spera (PL) (2025-2028)Area • Total460.61 km2 (177.84 sq mi)Elevation543 m (1,781 ft)Population (2022 Census) • Total101,409 • Estimate (2025)104,858 • Density220.16/km2 (570.22/sq mi)Time zoneUTC-03:00 (BRT) • Summer (DST)UTC-02:00 (BRST)Postal code19800-000Area code18Websitewww.assis.sp.gov.br Assis is a city and a municipality in the southwestern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 101,409 (2022 Census) in an area of 460.61 km2. The town was founded on July 5, 1905, and became a municipality in 1917, when it was separated from Platina. It is the largest city of its microregion, and the 2nd of its mesoregion, and is 434 km away from the capital, São Paulo. The town has an annual average temperature of 21,37 °C, annual rainfall 1,441 mm (56.7 in), and the vegetation predominates Mata Atlântica and Cerrado, is then a transition zone of vegetation. Its Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.805, considered high if compared to state and is in 28th place among Brazilian cities. Historical populationYearPop.±% 1920 13,047—     1934 18,169+39.3% 1940 23,703+30.5% 1950 32,959+39.0% 1960 42,666+29.5% 1970 57,220+34.1% 1980 67,357+17.7% 1991 85,391+26.8% 1992 77,066−9.7% 1993 78,425+1.8% 1994 79,609+1.5% 1995 80,765+1.5% 1997 84,758+4.9% 1998 86,133+1.6% 1999 87,505+1.6% 2000 87,251−0.3% 2001 88,535+1.5% 2002 89,657+1.3% 2003 90,774+1.2% 2004 93,118+2.6% 2005 94,415+1.4% 2006 95,703+1.4% 2007 92,965−2.9% 2008 97,725+5.1% 2009 98,715+1.0% 2010 95,144−3.6% 2012 96,333+1.2% 2013 100,204+4.0% 2014 100,911+0.7% 2015 101,597+0.7% 2020 105,087+3.4% The name Assis is a reference to Captain Assis, who explored the lands of the region. It is currently formed by the city of Assis, with its single district headquarters since Tarumã became a separate municipality in 1990. The city is known for its title Fraternal City and the undergraduate courses from UNESP at Assis, FEMA (Municipal Assis Educational Foundation) and Unip (Universidade Paulista - Paulista University). In the city, there are many industries, schools, universities, large agriculture production, and strong commerce and services. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Assis. Assis is one of the most important of region and has a privileged geographic location where there are different types of agriculture. Furthermore, the city is served by Marcelo Pires Halzhausen State Airport. Assis is cropped by the railroad old Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana and by numerous highways connecting the main cities of the region, the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná Furthermore, the city is regional development reference, with influence in the cities of Assis's Microregion, a few municipalities in the Ourinhos's Microregion, Marília's Microregion and North of Paraná by his commerce, services, cultural services, sports, science and technology that make Assis that bears the title of Capital of Paranapanema, even with strong competition from larger centers such as Marilia, Presidente Prudente and Londrina.
[edit] City Hall of Assis Mayor: Ricardo Pinheiro (2013/2016) Assis is seat of Government Region State and of CIVAP - Consórcio Intermunicipal do Vale Paranapanema (Intermunicipal Consortium of Paranapanema Valley) what is an alliance of 25 cities in Paranapanema Region with 300k inhabitants.
[edit] Composition of Economy(2011) Commerce and Services 80,44 % Industrial 16,70 % Agriculture 2,86 % The economy of the city is diverse with strong commerce and services participation, but with huge state participation. In the city are many marketplaces. The city was growing in IT, in the city was a huge number of IT companies (98 companies of IT is operating in Assis).
[edit] Main article: Education in Brazil Assis has a system of state and private primary and secondary schools and a variety of vocational-technical schools. It started in 1917 when Assis was transformed into a city. The first official and state school was Assis Isolated School (Escola Isolada de Assis), what was changed to Scholar Group of Assis (Grupo Escolar de Assis). After that, was created in 1941 the Assis Normal School (Escola Normal de Assis) with High School course and Normal course, that allowed the teacher formation. In 1951 was created officially the Artesanal School of Assis (Escola Artesanal de Assis), that was changed into Industrial School of Assis, which nowadays is Assis's State Technical School "Pedro D'Arcádia Neto". Hall of UNESP of Assis's campus Furthermore, in 1956 the São Paulo State Legislature approved the Bill proposed by the House Representative Mr José Santilli Sobrinho, who created the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Languages of Assis (Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Assis) as an Institute for Higher Education. In 1959 was installed the course of Languages. Today the faculty is a part of multi-campus system of Universidade Estadual Paulista (Paulista State University) with name Faculty of Science and Languages of Assis (FCLA) In the city are other universities like FEMA which was created by Assis's city hall (in other words, is a state university), but unlike Unesp the courses are not free and their students are required to pay tuition in all courses. "Histórico da FEMA" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2014-06-20. Educational institutions[edit] The universities and colleges include: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Paulista State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho; Faculdade de Tecnologia de São Paulo (Fatec), São Paulo Technological College; Fundação Educacional do Município de Assis (FEMA), Municipal Assis Educational Foundation; Universidade Paulista (Unip), Paulista University; Universidade Virtual do Estado de São Paulo (UNIVESP), Virtual University of the State of São Paulo; Universidade do Norte do Paraná (Unopar), Paraná Northern University;
[edit] Assis has a large health care state and private system like Hospital Regional de Assis, the largest health care center of Mesoregion of Assis and reference in public health in this region. The city have a huge number of hospital around the city. Furthermore, the city has other hospitals like Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Assis and Hospital de Olhos Oeste Paulista (Hospital of Eyes of Paulista West), one of the best ophthalmological hospital in the country.
[edit] The city of Assis is the headquarters of the DR7 Assis is the headquarters of the Departamento de Estradas e Rodagens de São Paulo (Department of Roads of São Paulo), being the 7th Regional Division. It is responsible for managing state roads of Middle Paranapanema and part of the Marília's Mesoregion and Ourinhos's Microregion. Avenida/Rodovia Benedito Pires (Benedito Pires Highway/Avenue) - Connects Assis to Cândido Mota. Four-lane highway. SP-270 - Rodovia Raposo Tavares (Raposo Tavares Highway) - Connects Assis to Ourinhos, Presidente Prudente, São Paulo and others. From Ourinhos to Presidente Prudente is a freeway highway. SP-284 - Rodovia Manilo Gobbi (Manilo Gobbi Highway) - Connects Assis to Paraguaçu Paulista SP-333 - Rodovia Rachid Rayes (Rachid Rayes Highway) - Connects Assis to Marília and Bauru SP-333 - Rodovia Miguel Jubran (Miguel Jubran Highway) - Connects Assis to Tarumã, Florínia and Paraná State (old Assis - Londrina Highway). Assis to Tarumã is a freeway highway. The city is served by Assis Airport.
[edit] In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).
[edit] Climate data for Assis, elevation 551 m (1,808 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1991–2022) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 37.3(99.1) 37.0(98.6) 36.6(97.9) 38.0(100.4) 32.6(90.7) 30.8(87.4) 34.8(94.6) 37.1(98.8) 39.6(103.3) 42.5(108.5) 38.7(101.7) 37.2(99.0) 42.5(108.5) Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 30.0(86.0) 30.1(86.2) 30.1(86.2) 28.7(83.7) 25.3(77.5) 24.6(76.3) 25.1(77.2) 27.4(81.3) 28.4(83.1) 29.6(85.3) 30.0(86.0) 30.3(86.5) 28.3(82.9) Daily mean °C (°F) 24.6(76.3) 24.6(76.3) 24.2(75.6) 22.4(72.3) 18.9(66.0) 17.9(64.2) 17.8(64.0) 19.3(66.7) 21.1(70.0) 22.9(73.2) 23.7(74.7) 24.4(75.9) 21.8(71.3) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 19.2(66.6) 19.1(66.4) 18.3(64.9) 16.0(60.8) 12.5(54.5) 11.2(52.2) 10.4(50.7) 11.2(52.2) 13.8(56.8) 16.3(61.3) 17.3(63.1) 18.6(65.5) 15.3(59.6) Record low °C (°F) 11.2(52.2) 12.2(54.0) 11.8(53.2) 3.6(38.5) 2.2(36.0) −3.2(26.2) −3.0(26.6) −0.1(31.8) 0.0(32.0) 7.3(45.1) 9.4(48.9) 10.4(50.7) −3.2(26.2) Average precipitation mm (inches) 237.8(9.36) 178.9(7.04) 130.7(5.15) 93.8(3.69) 87.1(3.43) 65.0(2.56) 43.8(1.72) 40.2(1.58) 89.6(3.53) 135.3(5.33) 140.1(5.52) 175.7(6.92) 1,418(55.83) Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 15.7 14.6 11.8 7.2 8.3 8.5 5.9 4.4 8.0 10.1 10.2 13.1 117.8 Source: Centro Integrado de Informações Agrometeorológicas
[edit] See also: Religion in Brazil, Protestantism in Brazil, and Roman Catholic Church in Brazil Christianity is present in the city as follows: Catholic Church[edit] The Catholic church in the municipality is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Assis. Protestant Church[edit] The most diverse evangelical beliefs are present in the city, mainly Pentecostal, including the Assemblies of God in Brazil (the largest evangelical church in the country), Christian Congregation in Brazil, among others. These denominations are growing more and more throughout Brazil.