Sarasota keeps acquiring new identities—but there's one we just can't shake.

The North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan area recently ranked No. 4 on LinkedIn’s 2026 list of rising job markets. The City of Sarasota placed No. 2 in a LoopNet ranking of 50 markets for office investment. Together, the findings suggested a region developing an identity as a place to work and invest—not simply retire.

When it comes to age, however, the story remans familiar.

A new U.S. Census Bureau report describes a world growing older at unprecedented speed. In Sarasota, much of that projected future has already arrived.

The global share of people age 65 and older is expected to rise from 10.5 percent in 2025 to 19.6 percent by 2060. The United States is projected to age more slowly, with its 65-plus population climbing from 18.9 percent in 2025 to 23.4 percent in 2060.

Sarasota County has already surpassed both projections. Nearly 39 percent of its residents are 65 or older. Manatee County, at more than 29 percent, is already older than the United States is projected to be in 2060.

Here are five takeaways from the latest Census Bureau data and what they reveal about aging in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Sarasota Is Already Older Than the World Is Projected to Be in 2060

Residents age 65 and older made up 38.8 percent of Sarasota County’s population in 2025, according to the Census Bureau’s latest county population estimates.

That’s nearly twice the 19.6 percent share the global population is projected to reach in 2060. It’s also far above Europe’s projected 2060 share of 30.8 percent.

The comparison becomes even more striking alongside countries at the front of the global aging curve. Japan was the world’s oldest country in 2025, with 29.7 percent of its population age 65 or older. Sarasota County’s share was about 9 percentage points higher.

South Korea is projected to become the world’s oldest country by 2060, when 41 percent of its residents are expected to be at least 65. Again, Sarasota is already slightly more than 2 percentage points away from that level.

Sarasota Has the Highest Median Age Among the Country’s Sizable Counties

Sarasota County’s median age reached 57.8 in 2025, and it was tied for the 20th-highest median age among 3,144 U.S. counties and county equivalents. 

Among the 294 counties and county equivalents with at least 250,000 residents, Sarasota ranked No. 1 in median age, percentage of residents age 65 and older, and percentage age 85 and older.

Manatee County’s median age was 49.3. It ranked seventh among counties of similar size in all three measures, and its 65-plus population represented 29.4 percent of its residents—about 6 percentage points higher than the level the United States is projected to reach in 2060.

More Than One in Three Residents Across the Region Is at Least 65

Sarasota and Manatee counties had a combined estimated population of 948,158 in 2025. Of those residents, 323,934 were at least 65 years old.

That means older adults made up 34.2 percent of the two-county population. By comparison, they represented 22.8 percent of Florida’s population and 18.9 percent of the U.S. population.

The contrast with the region’s youngest residents is stark. Sarasota-Manatee had about nine residents age 65 or older for every child younger than 5.

The imbalance is greatest in Sarasota. The 2024 American Community Survey estimated that the county had 182,323 residents age 65 or older and 66,526 children younger than 18—about 2.7 older adults for every child.

Sarasota’s 94,043 residents age 75 or older also outnumbered its entire population under 18.

Sarasota Has More Age-Defined Dependents Than Working-Age Residents

Sarasota County’s age dependency ratio was 109.3 in 2024, according to the American Community Survey.

The Census Bureau calculates that ratio by adding the population under 18 to the population age 65 and older, then comparing the total with residents ages 18–64.

A ratio of 109.3 means Sarasota had approximately 109 children and older adults for every 100 conventionally working-age residents.

Older adults accounted for most of that imbalance. Sarasota had about 80 residents age 65 or older for every 100 people ages 18–64, along with 29 children.

Manatee had approximately 85 children and older adults for every 100 working-age residents. That included about 54 residents age 65 or older and 32 children.

“Dependency” in this context describes age structure. It doesn’t mean every person over 65 is retired or financially dependent, and it doesn’t mean everyone between 18 and 64 is employed. The measure points to the potential pressure on the region’s workforce, caregiving network and public services.

The Oldest Parts of the Population Are Growing Rapidly

The number of Sarasota residents age 85 and older increased 20.3 percent between 2020 and 2025, rising from 21,734 to 26,141.

Manatee’s 85-plus population grew even faster, increasing 26.5 percent to 15,909.

And growth was especially sharp in the age group approaching that threshold. Sarasota’s population age 80–84 increased 35.6 percent over five years. Manatee’s grew 43.6 percent. Together, the two counties now have more than 42,000 residents age 85 or older.

In April, Niche ranked Sarasota County No. 1 nationally among its “Best Counties for Retirees.” The county’s weakest major category in Florida was young professionals, where it ranked No. 17 among the state’s 67 counties. Manatee ranked No. 13 in Florida for retirees and No. 19 for young professionals.

Niche is a rankings and review platform which combines government data with reviews and survey responses. Still, the rankings echo the sharper picture found in the Census data: Sarasota is exceptionally well established as a retirement destination, while its appeal to people at the beginning of their careers is less dominant.

What Else Do the Numbers Tell Us?

None of this means local economy is standing still.

In July, the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metro ranked No. 4 on LinkedIn’s 2026 Cities on the Rise list. LinkedIn found momentum in hiring, job postings and migration among members whose profiles placed them in the region. Real estate, hospitals and health care, and technology and internet companies were the metro’s leading hiring industries.

A separate LoopNet analysis placed the City of Sarasota No. 2 among 50 markets studied for office investment. Office-using employment grew faster in Sarasota than in all but two of those markets, led by professional and business services.

The Census estimates provide a related piece of the picture. Manatee’s population of people ages 25-44 increased 24.7 percent between 2020 and 2025, outpacing the county’s overall growth of 16.6 percent. Sarasota’s population in that age range grew 14.5 percent, compared with total growth of 10 percent.

Those figures show that a key segment of the working-age population is growing— even as older residents continue to make up an unusually large share of the region.

That overlap may be more important than either trend on its own. Sarasota-Manatee is adding jobs and working-age adults while confronting the needs of one of the oldest large populations in the country. Health care, already one of the region’s leading hiring industries in LinkedIn’s analysis, sits directly at the intersection.

The Census Bureau’s global report found that life expectancy is projected to rise faster than healthy life expectancy, meaning a smaller share of the additional years people gain may be lived in full health. It also found that an estimated 73 percent of Americans age 65 and older had at least two chronic health conditions between 2016 and 2019.

Local numbers on that front could differ, but with nearly 324,000 residents age 65 or older, the finding raises immediate questions about hospital capacity, specialists, memory care, assisted living, in-home services and transportation to medical appointments.

While the recent rankings suggest Sarasota-Manatee may be gaining ground as a place to work and invest. When it comes to its residents, the area remains far ahead of the global aging curve.