New report lists Sarasota one of the best cities for renters — but that's quite debatable

Study after study, story after story, commission meetings and coffee shop conversations — the sentiment stays the same. Sarasota’s cost of living isn’t pretty, and renters struggle to keep up.

The Herald-Tribune told you as much last week when we crunched the numbers on the average going rate for apartments in the Sarasota Bradenton area. We also told you a few weeks ago when we reported the area was one of the top 20 most expensive for renters in the country, and again a few days after that when we wrote that it experienced the second-highest rent spike nationwide between 2019 and 2023.

But it looks like RentCafe didn’t get the memo.

A new study from the real estate service ranked Sarasota the third-best city in the country for renters , as first reported by The New York Times . It’s a stark departure from where most nationwide data sets put the area — and what renters like me have experienced trying to make it work in the local market.

The study ranked 149 cities with at least 10,000 rental units and 50,000 residents. RentCafe scored each city on 20 metrics in the categories of cost of living and housing, local economy and quality of life, and it sourced its data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index and other government agencies.

More: Sarasota Bradenton Airport added five new nonstop flights in 2024. See where they fly

Sarasota was the highest Florida city on the list, with Miami at no. 10, Fort Lauderdale at no. 13, Orlando at no. 17 and Jacksonville at no. 25 also cracking the top 25. Tallahassee (30), Tampa (32), Gainesville (39), Bradenton (40) and Pensacola (45) rounded out the top 50 cities listed in the report.

Charleston, South Carolina topped the list, while Newark, New Jersey checked in at the bottom spot. The study weighed factors like cost of living, share of renter households, unemployment rate, job growth, average school quality and public transport usage/walkability in its rankings.

Now for the elephant in the room: How did Sarasota end up so high — especially when, in similar reports from publications like Forbes Advisor and USA Today's Homefront , it didn't even make the cut?

“Best” and “most expensive,” of course, aren’t mutually exclusive. The opposite is more often true: Price and quality are directly proportionate, and certain products and brands are more expensive because they’re the best. But the RentCafe report lauds Sarasota for its “comfortable level of affordability and convenience,” ranking the area as the fifth in the cost of living and housing category and sixth in economy.

The entry also highlights Sarasota’s scenery and thriving job market with companies like PGT Innovations and Sun Hydraulics as contributing factors toward “the perfect spot for renters looking for a city that strikes the perfect work/life balance.” But the area’s reported affordable cost of living, which accounted for 50% of a city’s final ranking, is the crowning jewel.

More: Sold! 3 of best waterfront restaurants in Sarasota, Bradenton bought by hospitality group

Sarasota’s reported affordability drove its high ranking, but most other resources would call it a generous assessment.

Median rent in Sarasota, according to Zillow’s database , is $2,845 for all property types: 32% higher than the national median of $2,150. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator estimates that the average household must bring in almost $91,000 annually to live comfortably in Sarasota County’s housing market, but the median household income is a little more than $78,000 , according to county demographics.

The reality is that, per the most recent report from Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse, almost 30% of percent of renters in Sarasota County (including yours truly) are cost-burdened by their rents — meaning more than 30% of their monthly income goes toward paying them. Market-rate rents are pricing local workers and seniors out of the area, and businesses have reported difficulty retaining employees because of the area’s high cost of living.

As someone facing this reality with her own apartment search, I don’t doubt that I could be priced out too. I reported last week that a one-bedroom apartment for less than $1,600 a month is a diamond in the rough, rough rental landscape, and even that minimum leaves me and other young professionals at best cost burdened and at worst incapable of living where we work.

More: A new record! Sea turtle nests continue to pop up on Anna Maria Island

RentCafe’s report isn’t the first disconnect between studies from national resources and what residents and experts see on the ground. A May Redfin report hailed the area as “overvalued” and predicted home prices would dip in the coming months, but local developers and Realtors told the Herald-Tribune that’s far from the housing market reality.

With so much data available and real estate services across the country commissioning reports from their own crop of experts and resources, it’s difficult to discern which has the final word on the shape of the rental market. RentCafe’s assessment is one in a sea of studies that sell us opposing narratives — that Sarasota is the best, worst, cheapest or most expensive of any city in the country on any given day, depending on where you look.

When it comes to the cost of living, though, there isn't much wiggle room. Sarasota can boast the title of “best” in a number of areas — its beaches, its restaurants, its rich history and celebrated culture — but with local data abundant, the rent market may be the one area where Sarasota’s status isn’t up for debate.

Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman ay hbushman@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New report lists Sarasota one of the best cities for renters — but that's quite debatable