Midwesterners Drive Sarasota County's 12.4% Population Growth as 72,493 New Residents Arrive
Updated
Updated · Fox Business · Jul 7
Midwesterners Drive Sarasota County's 12.4% Population Growth as 72,493 New Residents Arrive
2 articles · Updated · Fox Business · Jul 7
Summary
Sarasota County's population rose 12.4% in the five years through April 2025, with Florida researchers tying much of the gain to sustained in-migration from the Midwest.
About 5,300 Midwesterners moved into the county in 2022-23—17.5% of all arrivals—while Census data for 2018-22 showed 1,585 newcomers from Michigan, 1,399 from Illinois and 1,282 from Ohio.
Remote work after the pandemic accelerated a migration pattern already fueled by retirement moves, the I-75 corridor, calmer Gulf beaches and a culture seen as closer to the Midwest than South Florida.
That influx initially crushed housing supply and drove bidding wars, but the market has since recalibrated: Sarasota's median listing price was $487,000 in May 2026, above Tampa's $400,000 and Cape Coral's $399,000.