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Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a small city of about 58,000 people in Sarasota County, Florida. It's the county seat. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tampa, is about 44 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
58,458
up 5.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$463,000
Sarasota County prices down 0.5% since 2022
Household income
$72,105
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, North Port area
102.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
To Tampa
44 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.4% above the U.S. average in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Sarasota itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town30 public schools: 20 elementary, 5 middle and 5 high schools.
  • A hospital close bySarasota Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTampa is about 44 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Sarasota meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$463,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Down 0.5%Sarasota County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,684 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$72,105U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,230 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
14%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
102.4U.S. average = 100 (the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved down 0.5% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metro area, not Sarasota alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
58,4582020: 55,221
Median age
48.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
29%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
42%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); professional and business services (13%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota, FL, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

30 public schools in Sarasota, run by Sarasota and Manatee.

Colleges in or next to town: Ringling College of Art and Design (1,000 to 4,999 students); New College of Florida (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
52°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
85 a year
Nights at or below freezing
1 a year
Rain and melted snow
56.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
17 feet

Weather stations: Sarasota Bradenton Ap (4 miles away) and Bradenton 5 ESE (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bradenton, Tampa.

Sarasota County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

84 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Bacheller-Brewer Model Home Estate, the Bispham-Wilson Historic District, the Burns Court Historic District and the Caples'-Ringlings' Estates Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • De Soto National Memorial14 miles

Campus life. Check Ringling College of Art and Design's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Sarasota's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sarasota?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Pinecraft, FL (unincorporated)305 people, 3 miles
  • Desoto Acres, FL (unincorporated)641 people, 3 miles
  • Desoto Lakes, FL (unincorporated)1,735 people, 4 miles
  • Bradenton Beach, FL921 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.