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Sarasota County, Florida
This is where your money goes.
To raise two kids here, a family needs$87,170 / yr
The average Sarasota wage$60,112 / yr
Short — every year−$27,058
Your family's share of the new spending & debt$7,189
What the county pays its top administrator$460,000
salary + benefits + pension
A family falls $27,000 short — while the county added $876 million in new spending and debt, and pays one administrator $460,000.
Sources: Sarasota County ACFR FY2022–FY2025; FY2026 Adopted Budget; BLS/EDR; RentCafe; Your Observer (Oct 2025).
They grew up here. Now they're being priced out of the community they call home — a family needs $87,170 to raise two kids in Sarasota, and the average wage is $60,112.
Commissioners Joe Neunder and Mark Smith voted yes on every record budget and bond behind the $876 million in new spending and debt.
