Sarasota County, Florida

• Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
• Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 5.1 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
• Aging population: Median age of 57 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 37,844 workers (23.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,309. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 15,719 and is counted separately.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $35.9B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $145,659 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $35,158, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Specialty Trade Contractors concentrates at 1.91x the national norm.
• Cluster depth: 12 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 35% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
• Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.9x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 76.7% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 20.4% of housing units are vacant, above the Florida rate of 14.7%, and down from 24.1% in 2019.
• Mostly second homes: seasonal, recreational and occasional-use units are 74.3% of vacant units, so the headline rate is not available supply.
• Genuinely available supply: units listed for rent or for sale are 9.1% of the vacant stock, or 1.9% of all housing units against the 20.4% headline vacancy rate. Absorbable supply for an incoming employer is thin, and the gap between the two is the redevelopment and conversion opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 1 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $60,613 can pay without cost burden (~$1,515/mo), and 54.6% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

• Succession risk is real: 31.8% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 48.9% labor force participation against a labor force that grew 11% between 2019 and 2024, so workforce development programs may unlock additional supply.
• Talent pipeline: 4 institutions in Sarasota County award 1,305 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.

Sarasota County shows emerging potential for specialty trade contractors attraction, with a 1.91x concentration and 13,342 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 31.8% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The concentrated base spans specialty trade contractors, lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets, and performing arts, spectator sports, and related, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 35% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.