Census-designated place · Sarasota County, Florida

Gulf Gate, Florida

Gulf Gate is a census-designated place in Sarasota County, Florida, part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro area. It has 7,998 residents. Gulf Gate, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,859 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #122 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on math scores (high), reading scores (high) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), natural hazard risk (high) and hot days (high).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,859 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #122 of 780 in FL
Population: 7,998 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 4,012.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1228045

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety69#4,824/15,637
Economy44#8,736/15,631
Housing2#14,665/14,977
Health69#4,791/15,609
Healthcare67#5,221/15,650
Environment56#6,753/15,453
Education91#1,355/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,765/15,650
Community62#5,902/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,155/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Gulf Gate, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sarasota County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Math scores · high3.52
97/100Florida 3.28United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSarasota County value
Reading scores · high3.46
97/100Florida 3.17United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSarasota County value
New business applications · high21.4 /1k
93/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSarasota County value
High school diploma or higher · high95.0%
90/100Florida 89.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Comfortable days · high33.0%
90/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSarasota County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.3
90/100Florida 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSarasota County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high57.4%
5/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Natural hazard risk · high95.2
5/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencySarasota County value
Hot days · high118 days
5/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSarasota County value
Drought exposure · high92%
5/100Florida 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASarasota County value
Rent as share of income · high45.4%
6/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high20.7%
8/100Florida 13.7%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
8,521 (2016-2020) → 7,998 (2020-2024)
−6.1%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
32.4% (2016-2020) → 45.4% (2020-2024)
+13 pts4 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.6% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.3% (2016-2020) → 35.9% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 15.7% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
25.8% (2016-2020) → 32.6% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.9% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.6% (2016-2020) → 91.6% (2020-2024)
+6 pts4 yearsCensus table B28002US 85.2% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.4% (2016-2020) → 57.4% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

There is not enough history to compare Gulf Gate, Florida over five years.

Cities and towns like Gulf Gate, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Gulf Gate, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Gulf Gate, Florida five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

7,998 residents (±1,181)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

7,998 residents (±1,181)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

White94%7,515
Black1.8%†144
Hispanic or Latino2.0%†163

Education

6,423 residents (±842)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

No high school diploma5.0%†324
High school or GED30%1,942
Some college22%†1,435

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,204 households (±504)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k18%†740
$25k–50k23%948
$50k–75k16%686
$75k–100k12%†512
$100k–150k20%†839
$150k–200k5.4%†225
$200k or more6.0%†254

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,204 households (±504)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Own55%2,297
Rent45%1,907

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,869 households (±403)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Under $7502.0%†38
$750–1,0004.2%†79
$1,000–1,50024%†456

Home values

2,297 homes (±501)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Under $150k5.0%†114
$150k–250k22%†510
$250k–400k36%†832

Age of homes

4,646 homes (±497)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

2010 or later1.5%†69
2000–20094.3%†198
1980–199919%902

Size of homes

4,646 homes (±497)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Studio0.8%†38
1 bedroom8.0%†372
2 bedrooms58%2,690

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,800 workers (±872)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone79%2,983
Carpool5.1%†193
Public transit0.8%†32
Walk3.2%†120
Bike0.3%†12
Work from home12%†444
Other0.4%†16

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

3,356 workers (±895)

Gulf Gate, Florida
Florida share

Under 15 min28%†926
15–29 min41%1,380
30–44 min28%†939

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Sarasota County, the county holding most of Gulf Gate's residents.

Sarasota County has 15,989 employer establishments, 339 for every 10,000 residents (1.36× the US rate of 248; 1.20× Florida's), with 162,310 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,765. The Census Bureau also counts 59,161 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 15,989; 59,161 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 339; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 162,310
Average annual pay: $55,765; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Sarasota County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,534	32.5	1.56×More than typical	13,227	$71,914	3,189
Specialty trade contractors	1,474	31.2	2.02×More than typical	11,412	$58,458	3,655
Lessors of real estate	1,290	27.3	2.22×More than typical	3,452	$61,495	8,557
Restaurants and other eating places	907	19.2	1.05×About typical	19,874	$27,421	221
Services to buildings and dwellings	808	17.1	2.54×More than typical	4,678	$38,330	4,224
Real estate agents and brokers	771	16.3	3.35×More than typical	1,198	$68,587	3,084
Management, scientific and technical consulting	610	12.9	1.93×More than typical	2,212	$90,764	2,815
Construction of buildings	581	12.3	1.63×More than typical	2,986	$78,961	2,080
Offices of physicians	539	11.4	1.76×More than typical	4,957	$102,338	621
Full-service restaurants	516	10.9	1.42×More than typical	13,433	$30,996	101
Offices of other health practitioners	506	10.7	1.76×More than typical	2,125	$49,992	1,279
Building finishing contractors	490	10.4	2.73×More than typical	1,947	$47,770	1,494

Rank places for an industry Open Sarasota County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 472,211 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $561.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Gulf Gate, Florida: $70.25 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $561.8K; −57% vs FY2025
Per resident: $70.25; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 43%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$569.5K100%

Top recipients

JPL & ASSOCIATES, LLC$569.5K100%
DOODIE CALLS, LLC-$7,6230.0%

Spending by fiscal year

2.3MFY2017
3.5MFY2018
3.9MFY2019
1MFY2020
880KFY2021
887KFY2022
523.6KFY2023
780.5K

Top industries (NAICS)

Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372$569.5K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Gulf Gate, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Gulf Gate, Florida's figures are part of those of Sarasota County, FL ($131.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Gulf Gate is mostly in Sarasota County.

See federal money in Sarasota County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Gulf Gate, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

W. Gregory SteubeR-FL-17 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 3.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Sarasota County87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL77

Other cities and towns in Sarasota County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1228045

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Cities and towns like Gulf Gate, Florida five years ago that improved