Sarasota County, located on the West Coast of Florida, about 60 miles south of Tampa, encompasses an area of 573 square miles and includes the cities of Sarasota, Venice and North Port, town of Longboat Key and Englewood. For more information on Sarasota County, please visit our Demographics section.

The county's approximately 600 square miles extend west from rustic ranch land to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay.  With more than 35 miles of gulf beaches, most Sarasota County residents are within a 15-minute drive of the most spectacular white sand beaches in the world. 

Temperatures in Sarasota County average 61.5 degrees in January and 80 degrees in August.  The average year-round temperature is a pleasant 71 degrees.  The average annual rainfall is 60 inches.   

Sarasota County residences include over 15,000 homes located on the gulf or bay.  Four barrier islands - Casey Key, Lido Key, Longboat Key and Siesta Key - feature some of the county's most unique residential communities.   

Sarasota County Awards & Distinctions

• Expansion Management magazine chose the Sarasota-Bradenton area as the only community in Florida worthy of its Five Star Community ranking. For executives at companies looking to move or expand their businesses, Sarasota-Bradenton scored high for its "Quality of Life Quotient," judging crime levels, housing affordability and availability, education levels, cost of living, employment opportunities, continuing education opportunities and accessibility to air travel. Sarasota schools also received a BLUE RIBBON, the highest rating of any school system in the state.
  
  

• Sarasota made it into the Top 20 on Employment Review’s "Top 20 Best Places to Live and Work" list, published in June 2000. The editorial staff looks at more than 300 cities comparing population, unemployment rates, cost of living and job opportunities for professionals on the move.
  
  

• Entrepreneur magazine rated Sarasota-Bradenton the 6th best medium-sized city in the U.S. for small business, and the 8th best place in the south for entrepreneurs.
  
  

• Money magazine placed Sarasota schools in the Top 100 in the nation as well as naming the Sarasota-Bradenton area as the 21st Best Place to Live in the U.S., and one of the Top 20 Places to Retire.
  
  

• A New Business Opportunity Index developed by two professors in the College of Business Administration at the University of Texas at El Paso ranks Sarasota 7th among 316 metropolitan areas in the U.S. for a variety of key conditions that positively influence business climate.

Sarasota County’s Further Distinctions Include:

• The Sarasota County region was ranked the number one market in the south for expansions and relocations by Southern Business & Development magazine.
  
  

• Money magazine included the Sarasota County School District on the list of Top 100 Schools in the U.S.
  
  

• Entrepreneur magazine placed Sarasota as the 6th best medium-sized city in the U.S.
  
  

• Entrepreneur magazine also named Sarasota as the 8th Best City in the South (regardless of size).
  
  

• Sarasota County has been ranked among the country’s best employment generators by DRI/McGraw Hill and the University of Arizona.
  
  

• PC World and Money magazine named Sarasota as the 23rd best place for telecommuting (working from home).
  
  

• Time magazine and Money magazine both named Sarasota’s New College as the 2nd Best College Bargain in the Country. New College outranked such schools as the University of California, Berkeley and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  
  

• The U.S. Housing Markets "Hotness Index" has ranked Sarasota 20th in the United States.
  
  

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Sarasota/Bradenton ranked 3rd in the nation in job growth.
  
  

• The Economist magazine ranked Sarasota 7th best for private sector job growth.
  
  

• The Kiplinger letter reported a lifestyle study by management consulting firm Runzheimer International, showing "upscale" Sarasota 2% below the U.S. average cost.

Flight Facts          

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport  (SRQ), a modern $61 million terminal complex, provides charter and general aviation services and air cargo processing, and serves 2 million passengers a year.  The airport has Port of Entry Status, with full-time U.S. Customs service to handle baggage, air cargo, and private aircraft inspections. 

Port Points

Port Manatee is Florida's fourth largest deep-water port, with regular connections to Central and South America and Western Europe. 

The Port of Tampa, largest in the state and 11^th largest in the U.S. provides container service to Europe, North and South America, and Asia.  The Seminole Gulfcoast Railway and CSX lines serve both ports.