Laurel, Florida

Laurel, Florida
Census-designated place
Location in Sarasota County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°08′08″N 82°27′23″W / 27.13556°N 82.45639°W / 27.13556; -82.45639[2]
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Sarasota
Area [1]
• Total	10.19 sq mi (26.38 km2)
• Land	9.08 sq mi (23.52 km2)
• Water	1.10 sq mi (2.86 km2)
Elevation [2]	13 ft (4.0 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,186
• Density	1,342.0/sq mi (518.13/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	34272
Area code	941
FIPS code	12-39600[3]
GNIS feature ID	2403223[2]

Laurel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,186 as of the 2020 census, up from 8,171 at the 2010 census. Laurel is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.1 square miles (15.8 km²), of which 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²) is land and 0.97 square miles (2.5 km²), or 16.13%, is water.

As of the 2020 census, Laurel had a population of 12,186. The median age was 62.8 years. 10.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 45.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.9 males age 18 and over.^[5][6]

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.^[7]

There were 6,063 households in Laurel, of which 12.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.1% were married-couple households, 15.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[5]

There were 7,494 housing units, of which 19.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.3%.^[5][6]

According to Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2.8% of the population was under age 5, 50.2% of the population was female, Laurel had 1,193 veterans, 10.6% of residents were foreign-born, and the persons per household value was 2.02.^[8]

The owner-occupied housing rate was 84.9%. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $338,200. The median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage were $2,051, and the median selected monthly owner costs without a mortgage were $590. The median gross rent was $1,569. 94.9% of households had a computer, and 90.0% had a broadband internet subscription.^[8]

The median household income was $69,850, and the per capita income in the past 12 months was $48,053. 6.3% of the population lived below the poverty threshold.^[8]

96.3% of the population age 25 and older were high school graduates or higher, and 39.2% of that population had a bachelor's degree or higher.^[8]

• Vivian E. Browne, visual artist