Lakewood Ranch vs. Palmer Ranch
Sarasota's top master-planned communities. How do they compare?
If you're planning on moving to Sarasota area and considering the popular master-planned residential communities of Lakewood Ranch or Palmer Ranch, this page has been created to give you a top-level overview of what each community offers and why people are moving to them. While both Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch are prominent master-planned communities with their own distinct characteristics, let’s take a deeper look into how they differ.Size and Resident Counts
Lakewood Ranch, the nation's #2 best-selling master-planned community in 2023 (ranked by total home sales), is situated east of I-75 in Sarasota and Manatee Counties and spans more than 33,000 acres. By comparison, this is much larger in scale and size than Palmer Ranch, which spans 12,000 acres. In fact, Lakewood Ranch is actually one of the largest master-planned communities in the entire nation at 58-square miles. Presently, Lakewood Ranch is home to 58,000 residents while Palmer Ranch comprises roughly 23,000 residents. Both communities are well-established in the greater Sarasota area as Lakewood Ranch was founded in 1994 and Palmer Ranch was founded in 1984.Current and Future Development Areas
As both Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch have experienced strong growth of new residential communities and homes built over the past two decades, there is still much new construction taking place for those seeking to build a new home. For Lakewood Ranch, most of its new home construction is now taking place in its northeast quadrant in the communities of Star Farms, Sweetwater, Azario, Lorriane Lakes as well as the southern part of Lakewood Ranch, between Fruitville Road and University Parkway, in the Waterside village. Sarasota County officials also approved (in late 2022) to expand the boundary of Lakewood Ranch eastward by an additional 4,100 acres, in an area called Lakewood Ranch Southeast, which allows for up to 5,000 new homes to be built (see map on this page). For Palmer Ranch, which has less remaining land to build on, most of its new home construction is now taking place in its southern end, from Bay Street south to SR 681 in the large Talon Preserve community.Town Centers and Resident Interaction
While both Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch offer a wide range of community lifestyles and housing options at varying price points from the $400's to over $1 million, one main distinction between these two communities is that Lakewood Ranch was originally planned with three town centers for residents to gather and enjoy social outdoor activities such as farmers markets, musical performances and seasonal festivities. These town centers include The Green, Main Street and Waterside Place. While Palmer Ranch doesn’t offer a centralized town center for its residents to gather, many of its larger communities have social directors which offer a full schedule of on-going events for its residents to interact and meet each other.School Zones & Districts
Another main difference between these communities is that Lakewood Ranch has its own public schools, which are part of the Manatee School district. It also has private school options within the boundary of the community. Palmer Ranch, conversely, does not have public schools located within its community borders and is served by the nearby public schools of Sarasota county.Now that we have overviewed some of the main differences between these communities, be sure to check out our Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch community pages to view more photos, interactive maps and information about each respective community.
Map of Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch
Lakewood Ranch
Originally known as Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the current day Lakewood Ranch community began its transition into a master-planned residential development back in 1994. Today, the Lakewood Ranch community is home to 58,523 residents at an average age of 49 (2022 data) and features top-rated schools, top golf and country clubs, thriving community centers, sports facilities, a polo club and now ranks as a top Florida retirement destination in the country.- Founded in 1994
- 33,000-Acre master-planned community
- 58,000+ Residents and growing
- 20+ Distinct villages
- 3 Town Centers
- 150 Miles of trails and 12 recreational parks
- Prices starting in the $300's
- Next to I-75, UTC Mall, shopping and dining!
Palmer Ranch
The roots of modern day Palmer Ranch date back to 1910 when Chicago socialite Bertha Honore Palmer (wife of Chicago businessman Potter Palmer) originally purchased 80,000 acres on Little Sarasota Bay for her winter residence. In 1984, Tampa businessman Hugh Culverhouse then purchased 12,000 acres from the remaining land to develop the area into a master-planned residential community. Today, Palmer Ranch is home to over 23,000 residents in 30+ upscale residential neighborhoods with commercial, retail and recreational spaces all cohesively integrated into the master plan.- Founded in 1984
- 12,000-Acre master-planned community
- 23,000+ Residents and growing
- 30+ Distinct Neighborhoods
- Multiple shopping plazas
- 12.5 Mile Legacy Trail and multiple recreational parks
- Prices starting in upper $300's
- Close proximity to I-75, Siesta Key Beach, shopping and dining!
