Best PlacesManatee County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Manatee County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Manatee County ranks 826th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $85,350, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are summer heat, disaster risk, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in Manatee County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Manatee County
The parts of Manatee County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Bradenton
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Parrish & Ellenton
Fewer homes sit empty and more residents vote.
Holmes Beach
It is quieter and health care is easier to reach.
West Bradenton
Biking is better, though fewer households have young kids.
Palmetto & Memphis
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Sarasota
Commutes are shorter, though crime runs higher.
Bayshore Gardens & South Bradenton
Transit reaches more jobs and streets are more walkable.
Manatee County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Manatee County's strengths and weaknesses
Manatee County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State infrastructure is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Fast internet and low taxes follow.
The one real hole is summer heat, near the bottom of the country. Disaster risk and car insurance costs also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Manatee County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 158 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
Where Manatee County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap childcare$916 a month, better than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Manatee County
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Manatee County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,350, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Manatee County's effective rate of 0.71%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Manatee County
Manatee County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Manatee County.
Who works in Manatee County, and how
Work in Manatee County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Manatee County
The coast is about 13 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Manatee County, which the map shows.
Is Manatee County growing, and who is moving in?
Manatee County has grown about 31% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Sarasota, FL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Manatee County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Manatee County, month by month
Manatee County sees roughly 158 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| April | 85° | 74° | 64° |
| July | 92° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 88° | 77° | 70° |
Flying in and out of Manatee County
The nearest airport, Sarasota/Bradenton International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 34 miles away.
The best schools in and around Manatee County
Schools across Manatee County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Palmetto Charter SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Gilbert W Mcneal Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Gene Witt Elementary SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
Top middle schools
- R. Dan Nolan Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Rowlett Middle AcademyA · 67% proficient
- Dr Mona Jain Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- State College Of Florida Collegiate SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Venice Senior High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Riverview High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Manatee County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Manatee County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Manatee County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Manatee County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 94% of counties and health care access beats 64%.
Common questions about living in Manatee County
Is Manatee County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Manatee County ranks 826th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, fast internet, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Manatee County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $394,508. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $85,350 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Manatee County safe?
Yes, Manatee County is safer than 90% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $170 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Manatee County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 74 with lows near 51. That works out to about 158 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Manatee County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bradenton, Parrish & Ellenton, and Holmes Beach. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Manatee County good for families?
Schools beat 75% of counties, crime safety beats 90%, and childcare runs $916 a month.
Is Manatee County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare Manatee County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Manatee County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Manatee County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Manatee County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Manatee County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Manatee County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Manatee County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Manatee County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Manatee County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.