Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Longboat Key grades A− overall, 11th of 634 graded towns in Florida. It reports less crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $158K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $951K, 11.8 years of the North Port metro’s $81K median household income. 68% of residents are 65 or older in Longboat Key, above both the Florida town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Longboat Key is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Only 74 of Florida’s 777 towns score higher on health.
Where Longboat Key beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Coastal flooding makes up 27% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
49.6% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Longboat Key is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,000 in 1960, 7,505 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1983 and 3 maps from 1944 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Longboat Key. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaTropicana Field
9 mi BeachAnna Maria Island
5 mi MuseumJohn and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
39 mi Stadium & arenaBenchmark International Arena
25 mi MuseumSalvador Dalí Museum
16 mi Park & preserveFort De Soto ParkTropicana Field: EaglesFanInTampa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anna Maria Island: Bfpage at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Taty2007, CC BY 3.0 · Benchmark International Arena: Miosotis Jade, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Salvador Dalí Museum: Taty2007, CC BY 3.0 · Fort De Soto Park: Christopher Hollis, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Longboat Key, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Longboat Key.
Longboat Key draws workers from Sarasota and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
At 11.8 years of the North Port metro’s $81K median household income, the typical home (about $951K) costs more against local pay than in 97% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The typical value, about $951K, is 22% below its August 2022 peak.
Longboat Key’s median rent is $3,501 a month. The typical Longboat Key home is worth about $951,000, down 1.6% in a year, more than twice the Florida typical home. 94% of Longboat Key households own their home.
| Longboat Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 94% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2,488 jobs are based in Longboat Key, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 45.6% of workers work from home, against 15.7% across Florida.
5.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Longboat Key. Only 10 of the 638 Florida towns we compare have a higher median household income than Longboat Key. Jobs based in Longboat Key grew to 2,488 in 2023, 510 more than in 2013.
| Longboat Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $158,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Longboat Key is 4 per 1,000 residents. Among 132 Florida towns, just 6 have a lower violent crime rate than Longboat Key.
| Longboat Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 2,287 U.S. towns with household incomes like Longboat Key’s, it is less healthy than 61%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Longboat Key beats the Florida average on 22 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. No town among the 636 in Florida we compare has a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Longboat Key.
| Longboat Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 15% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Longboat Key | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3.3% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 2.2% | 8.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 21.2% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9.2 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Quick Point Nature Preserve, at 44 acres.
| Longboat Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Quick Point Nature Preserve | 0.4 mi | 44 |
| 2. Bayfront Park Recreation Center | — | 9 |
| 3. Overlook Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2,274 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 208 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 2,274 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Longboat Key.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 52.5°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.3°.
Longboat Key has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Longboat Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 53°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7 within 15 miles of the center of Longboat Key
About 1 of every 100 Longboat Key residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Where Longboat Key’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Florida, United States
Longboat Key is a town in Manatee and Sarasota counties along the central west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located on and coterminous with the barrier island of the same name. Longboat Key is south of Anna Maria Island, between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It is almost equally divided between Manatee and Sarasota counties. The town of Longboat Key was incorporated in 1955 and is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town's population was 7,505 at the 2020 census, up from 6,888 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Longboat Key.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longboat Key | #11 | A− | D− | A | B+ | A |
| Bradenton Beach | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Bradenton Beach isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Longboat Key with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Longboat Key grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #11 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
