SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA

'Sarasota County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 325,957. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 366,256 [1]. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida.⁶

History

Sarasota County was created in 1921. It was named for a word in the indigenous Calusa language, whose meaning may be ''point of rocks.''

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,878 km² (725 mi²). 1,480 km² (572 mi²) of it is land and 398 km² (154 mi²) of it (21.19%) is water.
Sarasota County is part of the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Adjacent Counties

★ Manatee County, Florida - north

★ DeSoto County, Florida - east

★ Charlotte County, Florida - south

Places

Incorporated

# City of Sarasota
# City of North Port
# City of Venice
# Town of Longboat Key

Unincorporated

★ Bee Ridge

★ Desoto Lakes

★ Englewood

★ Fruitville

★ Gulf Gate Estates

★ Kensington Park

★ Lake Sarasota

★ Laurel

★ Nokomis

★ North Sarasota

★ Osprey

★ Plantation

★ Ridge Wood Heights

★ Sarasota Springs

★ Siesta Key

★ South Gate Ridge

★ South Sarasota

★ South Venice

★ Southgate

★ The Meadows

★ Vamo

★ Venice Gardens

★ Warm Mineral Springs

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

:
★ Sarasota County Public Schools - Public K-12 School district serving all of Sarasota County

Higher Education

:
★ New College of Florida - Public liberal arts college. 'Honors' college of the State of Florida.
:
★ University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee - Branch campus of USF.
:
★ Ringling College of Art and Design - A private, 4 year, not-for-profit, fully accredited college with concentrations in art and design.

Local media

Newspapers

:
★ Herald Tribune - Also known as the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Primarily serves Sarasota County for news, but also serves Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. Circulation is 110,817 daily and 132,185 on Sunday (2005 averages).^[1] Also operates an online news portal, HeraldTribune.com
:
★ Venice Gondolier Sun - Website
:
★ Pelican Press - Website

Television

Sarasota County is part of the DMA, the 12th largest DMA in the country. Most of the television stations are located in St. Petersburg or Tampa except:
:
★ WWSB - A local ABC affiliate based in Sarasota.
:
★ SNN News 6 - Local twenty-four hour news station based in Sarasota.
:
★ Various government and local access channels. Access 19 (Local Government channel), Education Channel (School Board) and BLAB TV (local programming)

Radio

★ WZSP-FM (105.3 La Zeta)

Transportation

Airports

:
★ Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, in both Manatee County (runway) and Sarasota County (terminal).
:
★ Venice Municipal Airport,a general aviation airport in Venice, FL.

Major Highways and State Roads

:
★ '

Interstate 75'- North-south limited-access freeway, and has ten interchanges within Sarasota County. Major north-south highway in Sarasota County. Connects the area with other cities such as Tampa, FL and Fort Myers, FL. Interstate 75 heads east in Southern Sarasota County through North Port, FL to cross Charlotte Harbor at a more manageable length.
:
★ '

U.S. Highway 41''- The other main north-south road. Known as Tamiami Trail. Follows the general path of Interstate 75, but most closer to the coastline. U.S. Highway 41 is not limited-access.
:
★ '

State Road 789'
:
★ 'State Road 758'
:
★ 'State Road 780'
:
★ 'State Road 776'
:
★ '

State Road 72'
:
★ '

State Road 681'

Public Transportation

:
★ 'Sarasota County Area Transit' (SCAT) provides public transportation for Sarasota County, Florida. SCAT is operated by Sarasota County. It maintains 19 fixed-line bus routes plus a dial-a-ride paratransit service (SCAT Plus).

Demographics

Some areas of Sarasota County, such as Casey Key near Nokomis, are very wealthy.

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 325,957 people, 149,937 households, and 94,460 families residing in the county. The population density was 220/km² (570/mi²). There were 182,467 housing units at an average density of 123/km² (319/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.65% White, 4.18% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 4.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 89.7% spoke English, 4.4% Spanish, 1.3% German and 1.0% French as their first language.
Census Estimates for 2005 show the county population as being 87.5% non-Hispanic whites, 6.3% Latinos, 4.5% African-American and 1.1% Asian.(source=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12115.html)
In 2000 there were 149,957 households out of which 18.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.00% were non-families. 30.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.61.
In the county the population was spread out with 16.20% under the age of 18, 5.00% from 18 to 24, 21.70% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 31.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 90.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,957, and the median income for a family was $50,111. Males had a median income of $32,114 versus $25,721 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,326. About 5.10% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.70% of those under age 18 and 4.50% of those age 65 or over.

★ Population in Sarasota County as of 2006 had reached 369,535 people. [2]

Notes and References

1. http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?CATEGORY=HELP11&template=ovr3

External links

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

psst.. try this: add to faves

	Travelonly - Allan Jenkins
	Time Out for Touring Inc.
	Temptation Resort Spa Cancun
	Temptation Resort Spa Los Cabos
	Marlin Travel - Yonge Street
	Bora Bora Lagoon Resort & Spa
	Golf Holidays International
	Destination Greece
	MarysTravelSpot
	JRD Travel Company

	5 Ways to get sexy & romantic in Miami
	Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando
	Top 5 small cities to visit on holiday
	Sneak peek into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
	Summer getaway specials for locals at Mandarin Oriental in Miami