County’s population growth projected to be over 1 percent for the first time since the end of the last boom

State data estimates total number of Sarasota County residents at 392,090

BEBR recently released these population estimates. Image courtesy Sarasota County
BEBR recently released these population estimates. Image courtesy Sarasota County

Based on estimates provided by the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR), this is the first year since 2007 that Sarasota County’s population growth has exceeded 1 percent.

County Administrator Tom Harmer announced the news in a Nov. 13 email to the county commissioners.

The county’s overall population is estimated to have risen by 4,950 people, a 1.3 percent change from 2014 to 2015, the figures showed. The 2015 total is projected at 392,090, compared to 387,140 in 2014.

The latest figures are estimates as of April 1, the email says.

Regarding the municipalities in the county, the City of North Port is projected to have seen the biggest increase — 3.2 percent — with its number of residents rising to 62,235 in 2015, compared with 60,295 in 2014, the email notes.

Longboat Key experienced the least growth, seeing only 13 new residents in 2015 for a total of 4,467, compared to the 2014 figure of 4,454. That represented growth of 0.3 percent.

The City of Sarasota had the second lowest increase — from 52,584 in 2014 to 52,905 in 2015, or a rise of 0.6 percent.

The City of Venice saw its population climb by an estimated 230 people year-over-year — from 21,188 in 2014 to 21,418 in 2015.

The population in the unincorporated part of the county rose 1 percent, the data shows — from 248,619 in 2014 to 251,065 in 2015.

In data on its website, BEBR projects the total Sarasota County population to be 412,873 in 2020.

In April, the county’s Planning and Development Services office reported that the county was growing by about five new residents a day. That was a contrast to the last boom period (2002-05), the report said, when the growth rate was over 2 percent, or between 7,000 and 9,000 new people per year.

The report added that two-thirds of the recent residential growth has been in South County.

The state has experienced population growth of 5.4 percent since 2010, the BEBR estimates show, with a total estimate for this year of 19,815,183.

A graphic shows residential units in the 1950s in Sarasota County. Image courtesy Sarasota County
A graphic shows the location of residential units built in 1950 or earlier in Sarasota County. Image courtesy Sarasota County

 

A graphic shows data about residential units built in the county in the 2000s. Image courtesy Sarasota County
A graphic shows data about residential units built in the county in the 2000s. Image courtesy Sarasota County