Not so long ago, Sarasota’s rental market seemed to have only one setting: up. In 2022, annual rent increases reached 40 percent in Sarasota County and 42 percent in Manatee. Across the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton metro, rents had climbed 47 percent since March 2020—the fastest increase among the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas.
For renters watching their renewal notices, the question was how much higher prices could possibly go—and whether moving outside the region made more sense.
Four years later, Sarasota is among the nation’s best cities for renters—a ranking that may have sounded like a punch line back then. RentCafe’s annual ranking places the city ninth among 150 cities evaluated nationwide. That’s down from second place in 2025, but still enough to keep Sarasota in the top 10. Bradenton, meanwhile, climbed 15 spots to No. 37, returning to the top 50 after finishing 52nd last year…