Lakewood Ranch, Florida

Area Profile

43,945 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lakewood Ranch, in Manatee County.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 50% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 36% of 4,199 cities measured63
SchoolsTop 17% of 4,162 cities measured76
GrowthTop 2% of 4,224 cities measured85
Housing affordability3,898th of 4,218 cities measured37
ClimateTop 14% of 4,225 cities measured81
Physical resilience4,061st of 4,226 cities measured10
AccessTop 10% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stability2,503rd of 4,226 cities measured53
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.0% and median household income $122,925, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Manatee County, FL, which contains Lakewood Ranch, rather than for Lakewood Ranch alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 72% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 17% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 11,049 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 42% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Manatee County, FL, which contains Lakewood Ranch, rather than for Lakewood Ranch alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
43,945
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$122,925
Top 9% nationally
Density
954/sq mi
46.1 sq mi of land
Median age
53.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Florida
Nearest major airport
SRQ
10 mi · Sarasota/Bradenton Intl
Median home value
$678,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Manatee County, FL, which contains Lakewood Ranch, is 5.0% — higher than in all but 25% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Manatee County, FL, which contains Lakewood Ranch, fell 0.5% over the past year, to 192,880 employed residents.

61% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $122,925 is higher than in 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsManatee County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$121,90393rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftManatee County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$80,30765th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,0552024 ACS 5-Year$122,925Top 9%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,9782024 ACS 5-Year$67,795Top 7%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%Top 33%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.9 minBottom 34%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year60.6%Top 7%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year57.8%11th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentManatee County, FL’s figureJuly 2026192,880Top 33%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Manatee County, FL’s figureJuly 2026+1.9%Top 21%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Manatee County, FL’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceManatee County, FL’s figureJuly 2026202,93367th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.7%Bottom 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageNorth Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,500Bottom 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageNorth Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,440Bottom 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Manatee County, FL’s figureJuly 2026+0.6%Bottom 15%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateManatee County, FL’s figureJuly 20265.0%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%96th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024123k110k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $122,925 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons13,420$35,160
Waiters and Waitresses9,200$36,660
General and Operations Managers8,610$94,900
Registered Nurses8,380$86,130
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,330$30,000
Cashiers7,520$31,240

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Manatee County, FL, which contains this city.

72% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 69% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.5 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.5
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
72.1%
Top 10% in Florida
Reading proficiency
69.2%
Top 12% in Florida
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lakewood Ranch High SchoolMANATEE2,42225.266%69%
B.d. Gullett Elementary SchoolMANATEE1,31416.679%74%
Dr Mona Jain Middle SchoolMANATEE93322.2——
Tatum Ridge Elementary SchoolSARASOTA86415.778%76%
Braden River Middle SchoolMANATEE79719.062%51%
R. Dan Nolan Middle SchoolMANATEE78720.279%72%
Robert Willis Elementary SchoolMANATEE78516.783%82%
Gene Witt Elementary SchoolMANATEE74215.882%77%
Freedom Elementary SchoolMANATEE73616.059%61%
Carlos E. Haile Middle SchoolMANATEE71521.072%61%
Gilbert W McNeal Elementary SchoolMANATEE67215.378%78%
Braden River Elementary SchoolMANATEE54714.875%63%

32.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 104.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area is up 38% over five years, but down 0.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $6,908 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.02% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,330, close to the $2,299 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,330 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $93,200 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $122,925.

The typical renter household here spends 37% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,299 a month.

A median home at $678,200 costs 5.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $133,455, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
104.2

Prices here run about 4% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
36.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,330
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,299
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$678,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lakewood Ranch’s median household income of $122,925, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area’s figure2023104.2Bottom 37%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.5%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+37.5%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+101.0%64th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year5.1Bottom 8%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%58th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8882024 ACS 5-Year21,04997th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,010Bottom 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,020Bottom 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,330Bottom 20%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1142024 ACS 5-Year$2,299Bottom 4%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$26,4392024 ACS 5-Year$678,20094th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2982024 ACS 5-Year$6,90896th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,3812024 ACS 5-Year$133,455Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year1.02%53rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year36.7%Bottom 16%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5012024 ACS 5-Year1,67799th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%85th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%50th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6512024 ACS 5-Year3,16199th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

85/ 100
Top 2% of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Federal tax returns show Manatee County, which contains Lakewood Ranch, gained about 2.9% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $121,903, above the $80,307 of households that moved out.

At 25.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Manatee County, FL, which contains Lakewood Ranch, rather than for Lakewood Ranch alone.

Units permitted
11K
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
25.7
Top 2% nationally
Year over year
+42%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
27.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.9%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
55%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$121,903
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$80,307
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sarasota County, FL 5,395 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Hillsborough County, FL 2,128 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  3. Pinellas County, FL 1,716 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  4. Lee County, FL 495 people · 1.6% of arrivals
  5. Broward County, FL 432 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sarasota County, FL 4,121 people · 19% of departures
  2. Hillsborough County, FL 2,297 people · 10% of departures
  3. Pinellas County, FL 978 people · 4.4% of departures
  4. Polk County, FL 358 people · 1.6% of departures
  5. Pasco County, FL 309 people · 1.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Manatee County, FL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Lakewood Ranch, FL is not one. This is the figure for Manatee County, FL, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 52°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SARASOTA BRADENTON AP, 10.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND9.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year502024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
50
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

10 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 61% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HurricaneHigh
LightningModerate
Coastal floodingElevated
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, inland flooding, wildfire, heat wave, strong wind, drought, hail, landslide, earthquake, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, ice storm, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Manatee County records 4.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.1 per 100,000 residents in Manatee County.

Homicide
4.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Lakewood Ranch (Manatee County) rather than Lakewood Ranch itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Sarasota/Bradenton Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year96.9%Top 16%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 28%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%Top 15%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Sarasota/Bradenton IntlSRQ10 mi9,500 ft
St Pete-Clearwater IntlPIE38 mi9,730 ft
Tampa IntlTPA39 mi11,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
59
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Other cities in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
North PortSarasota County84,60555North Port vs Lakewood Ranch
BradentonManatee County57,01448Bradenton vs Lakewood Ranch
SarasotaSarasota County56,97047Sarasota vs Lakewood Ranch
VeniceSarasota County27,47953
South BradentonManatee County25,99052
EnglewoodSarasota County20,09152
Bayshore GardensManatee County18,13152
South VeniceSarasota County17,48453
Palmer RanchSarasota County16,86755
FruitvilleSarasota County15,17255
PalmettoManatee County13,58846
Sarasota SpringsSarasota County12,61155

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Lakewood Ranch side by side with a similar place.

Lakewood Ranch vs Palm Beach GardensLakewood Ranch vs Wellington

Moving to Lakewood Ranch from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Lakewood Ranch

4 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Lakewood Ranch with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Lakewood Ranch closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3420227,197$121,659$660,000—
3421225,536$125,486$529,10061
3421124,980$119,911$654,600—
3424018,774$130,148$698,800—