This is SignalPoint Intelligence's first monthly Sarasota Rent Snapshot: a free, citable look at typical rents across ten Sarasota-area ZIP codes, built only from public data we could fetch and verify. Figures below are not invented, not averaged from private scrapes, and not a substitute for property-specific comps.
Primary asking-rent measure: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) for September 2026 (file dated through 2026-09-30, accessed November 10, 2026 Eastern). Administrative rent standards: HUD FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents by ZIP. Occupied-unit context: Census ACS 2020–2024 median gross rent. Days on market are omitted because no free, ZIP-level rental DOM series was available on the access date.
Key findings
- Across the ten ZIPs, September 2026 ZORI typical rents ranged from $1,924 in 34234 (North Sarasota / Newtown) to $2,817 in 34236 (Downtown / St. Armands) — an $893 spread inside the same metro.
- The North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton metro ZORI was $2,106 in September 2026, up +0.4% month over month and +0.1% year over year — essentially flat at the metro level, and the highest metro typical rent among the four cities in this series.
- The City of Sarasota ZORI was $2,210, up +0.5% month over month and +1.1% year over year — also the highest city-level typical rent in the series. Sarasota County was $2,168 (+1.1% MoM, +0.4% YoY).
- Seven of the ten ZIPs rose year over year; five rose month over month and five fell. Lakewood Ranch (34241) shows the strongest year-over-year gain in this set at +7.2%; Gulf Gate / South Sarasota (34231) rose +5.1% year over year. The sharpest monthly move is North Sarasota / Newtown (34234), down -6.4% month over month, though it is down only -1.5% year over year.
- HUD FY2026 countywide Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in Sarasota County is $1,958. ZIP-level Small Area FMRs for 2-bedrooms in this set run from $1,690 (34234) to $2,350 (34238, 34241).
Typical rent by Sarasota ZIP
ZORI is a smoothed measure of typical observed asking rent across rental types in the ZIP, weighted toward the rental stock — not the rent of any one listing, and not a signed lease. Area labels are informal neighborhood shorthand for the ZIP, not official boundaries.
| ZIP / area | ZORI typical rent (Sep 2026) |
MoM | YoY | HUD FY2026 SAFMR 2BR |
ACS median gross rent (2020–24) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34236 Downtown / St. Armands |
$2,817 | +2.2% | +1.5% | $2,340 | $2,129 |
| 34241 Lakewood Ranch |
$2,661 | -0.2% | +7.2% | $2,350 | $1,795 |
| 34239 Southside / Arlington Park |
$2,323 | -3.6% | -2.6% | $1,970 | $1,602 |
| 34233 Palmer Ranch |
$2,248 | -0.7% | +0.4% | $2,200 | $1,907 |
| 34231 Gulf Gate / South Sarasota |
$2,129 | +2.1% | +5.1% | $2,050 | $1,821 |
| 34235 Arlington Park / Southside |
$2,091 | +1.8% | +3.8% | $2,100 | $1,809 |
| 34238 Palmer Ranch / Gulf Gate East |
$2,078 | +1.6% | -1.5% | $2,350 | $1,850 |
| 34232 Beneva / South Sarasota |
$2,038 | +2.6% | +2.9% | $2,170 | $1,937 |
| 34237 North Trail / Bayou Oaks |
$1,979 | -0.9% | +1.1% | $1,850 | $1,708 |
| 34234 North Sarasota / Newtown |
$1,924 | -6.4% | -1.5% | $1,690 | $1,456 |
MoM compares September 2026 to August 2026 ZORI. YoY compares September 2026 to September 2025 ZORI. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities; it is usually lower than current asking-rent indices and is shown for context, not as a current list price.
Metro, city and county context
| Geography | ZORI Sep 2026 | MoM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton metro | $2,106 | +0.4% | +0.1% |
| City of Sarasota | $2,210 | +0.5% | +1.1% |
| Sarasota County | $2,168 | +1.1% | +0.4% |
Sarasota County HUD Fair Market Rents for FY2026 (countywide, not ZIP): studio $1,418, 1BR $1,686, 2BR $1,958, 3BR $2,537, 4BR $3,027.
HUD FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents
Small Area FMRs are HUD's ZIP-level rent standards used for Housing Choice Voucher payment standards in the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota MSA. They are administrative benchmarks, not asking rents.
| ZIP | 0 BR | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34231 | $1,480 | $1,760 | $2,050 | $2,660 | $3,170 |
| 34232 | $1,570 | $1,870 | $2,170 | $2,810 | $3,350 |
| 34233 | $1,590 | $1,890 | $2,200 | $2,850 | $3,400 |
| 34234 | $1,220 | $1,460 | $1,690 | $2,190 | $2,610 |
| 34235 | $1,520 | $1,810 | $2,100 | $2,720 | $3,250 |
| 34236 | $1,690 | $2,010 | $2,340 | $3,030 | $3,620 |
| 34237 | $1,340 | $1,590 | $1,850 | $2,400 | $2,860 |
| 34238 | $1,700 | $2,020 | $2,350 | $3,040 | $3,630 |
| 34239 | $1,430 | $1,700 | $1,970 | $2,550 | $3,050 |
| 34241 | $1,700 | $2,020 | $2,350 | $3,040 | $3,630 |
What this means for landlords
- Price to your ZIP, not the metro headline. A flat metro ZORI hides an $893 gap between the highest and lowest ZIPs in this set. Comps from the wrong side of town will mis-set rent.
- Treat ZORI as a market temperature, not a list price. Your unit's beds, baths, condition, parking, laundry and pet policy still decide where you sit inside the ZIP's range.
- Watch MoM and YoY together. A ZIP that is soft year over year but ticking up month over month (or the reverse) calls for fresher active comps before you renew or list. North Sarasota / Newtown (34234) is the case in point this month: down sharply on the month, only mildly down on the year.
- Do not confuse HUD SAFMR with market rent. SAFMR is built for voucher standards. In several Sarasota ZIPs, current ZORI sits above or below the 2BR SAFMR for different reasons — stock mix, utilities, and survey timing all differ.
- When the ZIP index is not enough, pull active and recently leased comps for your exact bed count and finish level. SignalPoint's landlord pricing guide walks through that process, and the $99 Rental Market Analysis is the done-for-you version with a recommended rent range and pricing strategy.
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How to read these numbers
- ZORI (Zillow Observed Rent Index): smoothed typical observed asking rent for the geography, quality-adjusted and weighted to the rental stock. Dollar-denominated using the middle of the rent distribution. Source file:
Zip_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv(and metro/city/county counterparts). - HUD SAFMR / FMR: fiscal-year administrative rents. FY2026 figures shown here. Not the same as what a landlord should list tomorrow.
- ACS median gross rent: five-year survey estimate for occupied renter households; includes utilities when paid by the renter. Lagged and different population than current listings.
- Neighborhood names next to ZIPs are approximate labels for readability. Always confirm comps against the property's actual street and building type.
What we could not include
- Days on market: omitted. No free, citable ZIP-level rental days-on-market series was fetchable on November 10, 2026. (Zillow's free research CSVs for days-to-pending are sale-side, not rental.)
- Bedroom-level asking rents by ZIP: ZORI in the public ZIP file is an all-homes blend, not a 1BR/2BR/3BR split. HUD SAFMR provides bedroom breaks for voucher standards only.
- Apartment List / Redfin rental medians: not included in the tables because a stable, ZIP-level public CSV matching these ten ZIPs was not retrieved on the access date.
- This snapshot does not price any specific address. Condition, amenities and lease terms still dominate.
Sources
- Zillow Research, Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), public CSV downloads — ZIP, metro, city and county files (
*_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv). Latest month in file: 2026-09-30. Accessed November 10, 2026 (America/New_York) from zillow.com/research/data / files.zillowstatic.com. Zillow revises history with each release; this snapshot reflects the file as downloaded on the access date. - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents for the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, FL MSA (ZIP table) and FY2026 Fair Market Rents for Sarasota County (countywide), from HUD's FY2026 FMR files (
fy2026_safmrs.xlsx,fy26_fmrs.xlsx) via huduser.gov. Accessed November 10, 2026. - U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Median Gross Rent (table B25064), for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas matching the ten ZIPs above, via the Census Reporter API. Accessed November 10, 2026. ACS figures are survey estimates with margins of error; they are not current asking rents.