458,352 people (2024 Census estimate, +14.1% since 2020)
743 square miles of land · 617 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
7 active community water systems list Manatee County in the area they serve, reporting 428,473 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MANATEE COUNTY UTILITIES DEPT surface water · local government · FL6411132 | 347,800 served |
| BRADENTON CITY OF surface water · local government · FL6410182 | 58,584 served |
| CITY OF PALMETTO WATER DEPT. buys surface water · local government · FL6410322 | 13,446 served |
| TOWN OF LONGBOAT KEY buys surface water · local government · FL6411098 | 7,098 served |
| HEATHER HILLS ESTATES buys surface water · private · FL6412533 | 700 served |
| SUNNY SHORE WATER COMPANY buys surface water · private · FL6412418 | 450 served |
| HARBOUR ISLES MASTER ASSOCIATION buys surface water · private · FL6412551 | 395 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 1,201 people were held in Manatee County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 1,127.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Manatee County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $730.2 million — $583.1 million to run schools, about $11,381 per student, plus $108.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $518.4 million local (mostly property tax), $182.6 million state, $113.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $226.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Manatee County about $254.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
255 bridges in Manatee County: 138 in good condition, 116 fair, and 1 poor (0.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| 9TH STREET WEST over CEDAR HAMMOCK CANAL · built 1960 | 3,084 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $95.1 million of work in Manatee County in fiscal 2025, about $238 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Vote-by-mail request due by 5 pm: 2026-10-22. Early voting — the statewide minimum: 2026-10-24 to 2026-10-31. Election Day — and mail ballots must arrive: 2026-11-03.
Source: Florida Division of Elections — election dates · WPTV, 2026 deadlines · Florida Division of Elections — early voting
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Manatee County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Manatee County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Florida: the state government and every county in Florida.
Nearby counties: Sarasota County (17 mi) · Hillsborough County (29 mi) · Hardee County (35 mi) · Pinellas County (39 mi) · DeSoto County (41 mi) · Charlotte County (46 mi).