Sarasota Community

Living and Working in Paradise

Once known primarily as a vacation or retirement destination, today's Sarasota is that and so much more. A great year-round climate, expanding employment opportunities, abundant leisure time activities, first-class health care options and excellent schools attract creative entrepreneurs, skilled workers and professionals who want to thrive in a community where life is fun.

Almost half of Sarasota County's population is in the prime working age range of 25 to 64. No matter what your age or stage, there's always something interesting to do in the greater Sarasota community. Continue exploring the links at the right to learn more about why greater Sarasota is one of America's best places to live and work or read on to see what others have said about us.

One of the Best Places to Live

Forbes.com/Milken Institute has ranked the Sarasota-Bradenton area as the 39th "Best Place to Live" out of 294 U.S. metro areas (2002).
Money Magazine named Sarasota one of the nation's "Best Places to Live" ranking the community seventh on a list led by New York City. (December, 2001)
Money Magazine named Sarasota the "Best Small City in the United States." (December, 2000)
Named one of the "Top 25 Terrific Places to Bring Up a Family" by Mothering Magazine (July-August 2001).
Modern Maturity named Sarasota as the "3rd Best Big City in Which to Retire." (May-June, 2000)
Expansion Management named Sarasota the "6th Best Metropolitan Area for Standard of Living" in the Country. (November, 2000)
Money Magazine named Sarasota as the "21st Best Place to Live in the United States."
Money Magazine ranked Sarasota as one of the "Top 20 Places to Retire."
Entrepreneur Magazine placed Sarasota as the "6th Best Medium-sized City in the United States." It also named Sarasota as the "8th Best City in the South" (regardless of size).
The U.S. Housing Market has ranked Sarasota "20th in the United States for its Hotness Index."
Venice was named one of the top 10 small towns in Florida by Florida Trend Magazine (April, 2001)
Venice was honored with the Accessible America Award in 2002. The award was presented by the National Organization on Disability on May 14, 2002. Venice competed against nine other finalist cities: Berkeley, California; Bloomington, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Eugene, Oregon; Houston, Texas; Irvine, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Montgomery County, Maryland.

Top Choice for Business Relocation

Forbes Magazine named Sarasota the 44th "Best Place to Live and Do Business" out of the largest 150 U.S. Metro Areas (2003).
Expansion Management Magazine has rated Sarasota a four star community, one of only two to achieve this rank in all of Florida (2003)
Business Development Outlook Magazine has selected Sarasota as one of the "25 Choice Cities" – the most desirable cities into which a business can relocate or expand for 2001-2002. (November/December, 2001)
Sarasota was ranked "37th Best Place for Business and Careers" out of 200 metro areas nationwide by Forbes Magazine. (May, 2001)
Forbes Magazine named Sarasota the "47th Best Place for Business and Careers" out of the top 200 U.S. Metro areas.
Employment Review and BestJobs.USA has selected Sarasota as the "Best Place in Florida to Live and Work" and the "3rd Best Place in the Nation to Live and Work." (June, 2001)
For the third straight year, Expansion Management Magazine has chosen the Sarasota-Bradenton area as a "Five-star Community on their Quality of Life quotient - Best Places to Live and Work." (May, 2001)
BizMiner Business Vitality Review ranked the Sarasota/Bradenton metro area as the "3rd Best Second-Tier Metropolitan City for Business Relocations Nationwide." It is ranked 1st in Florida. (May, 2001)
Sarasota/Bradenton MSA received 5 stars (the highest rating) by www.bizjournals.com. (September, 2000)
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).
The Kiplinger Letter reported a lifestyle study by management consulting firm Runzheimer International, showing upscale Sarasota 2 percent below the U.S. average cost.

Excellent Educational Opportunities

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranked New College the seventh best value in public higher education. It is the only public college in Florida named a "best buy" in the noted Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003.
Time 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. Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked the Sarasota/Bradenton area "3rd in the Nation in Job Growth."
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.
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."

Top Quality Health Care

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is the second largest acute care hospital in Florida and the only hospital in Southwest Florida repeated recognized among America's 50 Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. In 2008, Sarasota Memorial was recognized among 10 of the largest safe hospitals in the nation by Forbes.com.