Sarasota, FL

Sarasota is located at 80km south of Tampa. We really like this town and its four barrier islands: Longboat, St. Armands, and Siesta Keys, and Lido Beach. In 1927, John Ringling chose Sarasota to be the winter quarters for his circus. Nowadays you can visit the Ringling Center for the Cultural Arts, a 66-acre estate that includes three museums: the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, and the former Ringling mansion, the Ca d'Zan. Lido Beach and Siesta Key are two other popular islands near Sarasota. Both have restaurants, shops and galleries. At the far end of Lido Beach is Mote Marine Laboratory's Mote Aquarium, with a 135,000-gallon shark habitat, a Mysterious Mollusks exhibit, sea turtles, jellyfish, two manatees, two touch pools and viewing areas where you can watch Mote's research in action.

Population (year 2000): 52,715. Estimated population in July 2005: 53,711 (+1.9% change)
Males: 25,627 (48.6%), Females: 27,088 (51.4%)

Sarasota County

Zip codes: 34231, 34232, 34233, 34234, 34235, 34236, 34237, 34238, 34239, 34240, 34241, 34242, 34243.

Median resident age: 41.1 years
Median household income: $34,077 (year 2000)
Median house value: $96,000 (year 2000)

Races in Sarasota:

Ancestries: German (13.9%), English (10.4%), Irish (10.4%), United States (6.2%), Italian (5.5%), French (3.3%).

Elevation: 27 feet

Land area: 14.9 square miles

For population 25 years and over in Sarasota

• High school or higher: 80.1%
• Bachelor's degree or higher: 25.7%
• Graduate or professional degree: 9.1%
• Unemployed: 5.9%
• Mean travel time to work: 20.0 minutes

For population 15 years and over in Sarasota city

• Never married: 27.2%
• Now married: 43.1%
• Separated: 3.1%
• Widowed: 11.3%
• Divorced: 15.4%

13.8% Foreign born (8.8% Latin America, 3.1% Europe).

Population change in the 1990s: +1,398 (+2.7%).