Census: 9.4% drop in population

In the past decade, Longboat Key experienced a 9.4% drop in population, according to U.S. Census data released last week, with its population falling to 6,888 permanent residents April 1, 2010, compared with 7,603 April 1, 2000.

Also revealed in the census numbers: Longboat Key lost 20 housing units over the past decade, dropping from 8,834 in 2000 to 8,814.

Longboat Key’s under-18 population stayed roughly the same, decreasing by just one, from 200 in 2000 to 199 in 2010.

And its population grew ever so slightly more diverse: As of 2010, whites made up 98.4% of the population, compared to 98.7% in 2000. Meanwhile, the number of minorities increased on Longboat Key, with 16 residents identifying themselves as black or African-American, compared to eight in 2000; 51 identifying themselves as Asian, compared to 36 in 2000; and 73 identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino of any race, compared to 51 in 2000.

Longboat Key Town Manager Bruce St. Denis, who said that he had seen the numbers on Tuesday but had not yet analyzed them, said that the decrease in population that occurred could be the result of more residents staying on the island part-time.

“I think we’ve had a transition of people who were permanent residents (who) have sold (their homes) to someone who is here part-time,” St. Denis said. “I don’t know if we have more empty homes, but I think there’s been a change in the overall distribution.”

But, according to St. Denis, that isn’t what matters from a revenue standpoint.

“What’s important to us is what percentage (of the population) of Sarasota and Manatee counties we have,” St. Denis said.

According to St. Denis, the percentage of population that Longboat Key occupies in each county determines the percentage of revenue the island receives from sources such as county gas and sales taxes.

Longboat Key Vice Mayor David Brenner expressed disappointment Tuesday when hearing that the island’s population had dropped.

“It’s a disappointment, but I am not surprised by the loss of permanent residents,” Brenner said. “It’s a further indication of the decline on the Key that’s been going on here for a while. The economy and restoring the attractiveness of the Key is the way to get those residents and others back.”

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]