Sarasota 10th among Florida counties in three-year business growth

Sarasota County is among the fastest business growth counties in Florida, according to a three-year study by financial technology company SmartAsset. With a 4.8% growth in business from 2019 through 2021 and GDP growth of $760 million, Sarasota ranks 10th among the state’s 67 counties.

The study identified counties receiving the most incoming investments in sectors such as business, real estate, government and the overall local economy. To determine the growth index, three factors were considered: business establishment growth, gross domestic product growth and new building permits.

All but one county in the top 10, Duval, are located from Orange County south. Ranking No.1 in the state was Dade County, followed in order by Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Duval, Lee, Brevard and Sarasota counties.

SmartAsset compared the change in the number of new businesses established in each county over the three-year period, inflation-adjusted GDP growth in each county, and investment and development in the local residential real estate market. Real estate growth was calculated by the number of new building permits per 1,000 homes.

SmartAsset combined those scores from each county to create a growth index that determined the final ranking.

Sources were the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, U.S. Bureau Economic Analysis, U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey and, USAspending.gov.