The crime rate in Sarasota is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 22 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Sarasota is 1 in 45. Based on FBI crime data, Sarasota is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Florida, Sarasota has a crime rate that is higher than 81% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

How does the crime rate in Sarasota compare to similar sized communities across America? When NeighborhoodScout compared Sarasota with other communities its size, we found that the crime rate was near the average for all other communities of similar size. So, whether Sarasota's crime rate is high or low compared to all places in the US, when we control for population size and compare it to places that are similar in size, it is near the middle of the pack in crime rate; not much more or less dangerous, and about what we would expect from the statistics.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Sarasota does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Sarasota.

For Sarasota, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Sarasota is one in 180.

Significantly, based on the number of murders reported by the FBI and the number of residents living in the city, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that Sarasota experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation when compared with cities and towns for all sizes of population, from the largest to the smallest.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Sarasota's rate for property crime is 17 per one thousand population. This makes Sarasota a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Sarasota is one in 60.