Sarasota Census: Rich Are Getting Richer, Poor Are Getting Poorer

Sarasota County seems to be getting richer and poorer at the same time.

Demographic Census reports published on the Sarasota County Government website this week show that while the median household income increased nearly $10,000 in the last 10 years to $50,046, the povery rate jumped more than 5 percentage points.

In 2010, which is the most recent Census, 12.8 percent of Sarasota County live at or below the poverty level compared to 7.6 percent in 2000. That's 48,649 people in poverty in the county.

The Census defined poverty as $11,344 for a single personunder age 65, and $10,458 for single people age 65 and older. For a family of four, the poverty income threshold is $22,314. Within Sarasota city limits, 17 percent of households live below poverty thresholds, and those families tend to be in north and north central Sarasota with another concentrated pocket west of South Tamiami Trail from Bahia Vista Street south to city limits.

Within that, the rich tend to be older while the poor tend to be young.

About one out of five children, or 21 percent, are living in poverty in Sarasota County while the poverty level for seniors 65 and older remained flat at 4.4 percent.

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Compared to the state and nation, Sarasota's poverty rates are lower, and are lower than Manatee and Charlotte counties, according to demographic reports.

To noone's surprise, Census demographic reports published on Sarasota County Government's website reveals that the county's population is still aging, as well.

Anecdotally, retirees having more spending money and income, so the income should be higher, Florida Legislature's top economist Amy Banker told The Herald-Tribune in 2011:

Although an aging state will bring some challenges, Baker said it also has benefits. While most of the aging has to do with people moving here to retire, younger people are still moving to the state. The retirees that move here also are likely to be more affluent.

"We know that typically folks who are able to sell their homes up north and move to another state, you're coming usually with more assets than your average person in retirement, so that is a benefit to the state," Baker said.

Even aging to the point that there are more deaths than births in the county for the last 10 years, accoridng to the Census. The growth of the county is thanks to folks moving to the area. 

Sarasota County has the highest percentage of residents age 85 and older, according to the Census, while it also has the second-highest percentage age 75 and older and the third-highest age 65 and older.

That factors all to the median age coming in at 52.5 years old in 2010. Depending on your agism, the county's median age was a young 39.2 years in 1970.

Perhaps playing into the gap widening associated with age is education level of the residents. One Census report shows that Sarasota bucks the national trend of education level by age.

More people age 65 and older have a higher education than those younger than 45 years old in Sarasota County. That comes in at 31 percent while the next age bracket, 45-64 comes in at 29 percent followed by 

Only 17 percent of Sarasota County's 25 to 35-year-old population has a bachelor's degree compared to 31 percent nationwide.