2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Gainesville, FL vs Sarasota, FL

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Highlights
- Household income in Sarasota, is 53% more than it is in Gainesville and is 10% below the National Average.
- Gainesville unemployment rate is 4.4%.
- Sarasota unemployment rate is 4.6%.
 Gainesville, FLSarasota, FLUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.6%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.6%1.6%
 Future Job Growth39.6%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock0.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$25,986  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$62,615$69,021
 Family Median Income$65,701  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Gainesville, FLSarasota, FLUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock9.7%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K5.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock11.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K10.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.4%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.3%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock9.7%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.6%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K3.4%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock10.2%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Gainesville, FLSarasota, FLUnited States
 Management, business, finance11.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock3.3%6.5%
 Community, social services1.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.4%1.2%
 Education, library12.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.6%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology9.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock4.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock11.1%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock4.0%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support22.2%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.4%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.9%13.1%
Reviews for Gainesville    60 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

I've lived here most of my life. It's changed a lot, and a lot of the locals don't like it. Because it's home to one of the largest universities in the country, we see a  More

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Lovely diverse city! People is nice and there is always something to do. Outdoors activities are awesome! The springs are beautiful and there are plenty of hiking  More

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Gainesville has the highest taxes and electrical rates in the state. The city is run by a bunch of liberals who have no idea what they are doing. Crime and homelessness  More

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Reviews for Sarasota    105 Reviews

Sarasota is my home from birth but those of us who have lived here long enough to have seen the devolution of what was once an easy to navigate, clean, low crime beach  More

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Starting to love Sarasota: Wife and I moved to Osprey- a small suburb between Sarasota and Venice. We're about 13 miles to downtown Sarasota, so not "city dwellers".   More

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As always, anyone considering moving to anyplace new, including Sarasota, needs to come down and spend a month or two before actually moving here. The city is overrun  More

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