Sarasota and Manatee counties

Which counties does Sarasota Senior Advisor cover?

We cover the two counties of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area, Sarasota and Manatee, which follow the same Florida licensing rules but are served by different Area Agencies on Aging.

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 county population estimates by age (July 1, 2025); AHCA, retrieved October 31, 2026.

Why do the two counties have different Area Agencies on Aging?

Florida's Department of Elder Affairs divides the state into 11 planning and service areas: Manatee County belongs to PSA 6, served by Senior Connection Center in Tampa, and Sarasota County to PSA 8, served by the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida in Fort Myers.

That matters for Medicaid long-term care screening and the home and community-based services wait list, which are handled by the county's own agency. A family moving a parent across the county line should call the new county's agency.

Which county has the older population?

Sarasota County, by a wide margin: 38.8% of its residents were 65 or older in 2025 estimates, with a median age of 57.8, compared with 29.4% and 49.3 in Manatee County and 22.8% statewide.

Sarasota also had 26,141 residents aged 85 and older against 15,909 in Manatee.

Where do Charlotte County and DeSoto County fit?

They are outside our directory: Englewood and North Port families often look south into Charlotte County, which follows the same Florida rules and shares Sarasota's Area Agency on Aging, but our listings cover only Sarasota and Manatee licenses.

The same AHCA locator covers every Florida county, so the method on our checking-a-license page works anywhere in the state.

Which hospitals serve Sarasota and Manatee seniors?

CMS's hospital data lists 7 acute-care hospitals in the two counties, from Manatee Memorial and HCA Florida Blake in Bradenton to Sarasota Memorial's Sarasota and Venice campuses and HCA Florida Englewood.