Sarasota vs West Palm Beach
The short version
- Sarasota is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 10% lower than in the West Palm Beach area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $414,200 in West Palm Beach and $463,000 in Sarasota.
Side by side
| Sarasota, FL | West Palm Beach, FL | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 58,458 | 127,189 |
| Growth since 2020 | +6.6% | +8.4% |
| People per square mile | 3,976 | 2,361 |
| Median age | 48.2 | 41.1 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 42% | 39% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $72,105 | $73,446 |
| Median home value | $463,000 | $414,200 |
| Home value to income | 6.4× | 5.6× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,684 | $1,772 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 102.4 | 114.2 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 128.0 | 155.6 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $76,800 | $85,600 |
| Homeowners | 58% | 51% |
| Top state income tax | None | None |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 6.98% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 20.7 | 23.4 |
| Work from home | 13% | 13% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 2% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Poverty rate | 15% | 14.1% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 73° / 52° | 75° / 58° |
| July high / low | 91° / 75° | 90° / 76° |
| Precipitation per year | 49 in | 62 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 85 | 74 |
| Nights below freezing | 1 | 0 |
| Comfortable months | 6 | 6 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 98.2 | 99.2 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 63% | 53% |
| Home prices, past year | -0.5% | +3.7% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +37.5% | +58.7% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Sarasota: November to April. West Palm Beach: November to April.
Full monthly tables: Sarasota weather by month and West Palm Beach weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $76,800 in Sarasota and $85,600 in West Palm Beach. Moving from Sarasota to West Palm Beach, you would need about $83,600 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Sarasota and West Palm Beach
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Sarasota and West Palm Beach.
Which would you pick?
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