Best PlacesThe Meadows, Sarasota, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around The Meadows, Sarasota, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
The Meadows, Sarasota ranks 2,218th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in The Meadows, Sarasota
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 Meadows, Sarasota's strengths and weaknesses
Where The Meadows, Sarasota ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where The Meadows, Sarasota ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in The Meadows, Sarasota
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median The Meadows, Sarasota home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $70,474, 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 The Meadows, Sarasota's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in The Meadows, Sarasota
The Meadows, Sarasota runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for The Meadows, Sarasota.
Who works in The Meadows, Sarasota, and how
Work in The Meadows, Sarasota centers on health care & social and real estate. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in The Meadows, Sarasota
The Meadows, Sarasota has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of The Meadows, Sarasota and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in The Meadows, Sarasota, month by month
The Meadows, Sarasota 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 The Meadows, Sarasota
The nearest airport, Sarasota/Bradenton International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around The Meadows, Sarasota
Schools across The Meadows, Sarasota average a B−, better than 59% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Gocio Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Emma E. Booker Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Booker Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Booker High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every The Meadows, Sarasota school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
The Meadows, Sarasota 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 The Meadows, Sarasota against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in The Meadows, Sarasota
Is The Meadows, Sarasota a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, The Meadows, Sarasota ranks 2,218th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low crime, health care access, and quiet, and lowest on summer heat and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is The Meadows, Sarasota expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $368,394. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $70,474 median income, cost of living beats 62% of neighborhoods.
Is The Meadows, Sarasota safe?
Yes, The Meadows, Sarasota is safer than 100% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $84 per resident a year.
Compare The Meadows, Sarasota with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to The Meadows, Sarasota. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in The Meadows, Sarasota 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.
The Meadows, Sarasota detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for The Meadows, Sarasota: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in The Meadows, Sarasota: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of The Meadows, Sarasota: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in The Meadows, Sarasota: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
The Meadows, Sarasota 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.
- 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.