Sarasota is no stranger to being No. 1. Siesta Key is a perennial first placer in beach rankings, and just last year, U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks our region a best place to live in all of Florida.
But Sarasota is also one of the worst cities in the U.S. for allergies, with a “worse than average” ranking on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)’s 2026 list of U.S. “allergy capitals.” It’s is a comprehensive study of the most challenging places to live with allergies.
In fact, our region has three of the top 30 cities in America with the worst allergies (Lakeland and Tampa are the others). Some of that is likely because of all the people moving down here, adding to the amount of people suffering from allergies, but there is another reason why allergies getting worse in the United States. According to the AAFA, it’s climate change…