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Sarasota may be Florida’s “next big thing,” according to a recent article in Inc. Magazine that lists the “Top 25 Cities For Doing Business in America,” and USF Sarasota-Manatee is playing a big role.

Sorted by large, medium and small metro areas, the magazine’s top-ranking cities have affordability, economic diversity, job growth, and are friendly to economic expansion in terms of office rents, taxes and regulatory environments. Additionally, they offer amenities such as quality universities and colleges, including USF Sarasota-Manatee.

Coming in at No. 3 on the medium cities list, Sarasota is described as “an affordable coastal region that attracts many skilled, middle-class emigrants from the north.” Among the fastest-growing cities for information-based industries, Sarasota boasts a sizable tech work force.

“USF Sarasota-Manatee is a vital economic engine in our community, an indispensable asset. We provide the nurses, accountants, teachers and business leaders that support local economic development,” says Dr. Laurey Stryker, the campus CEO who also serves as Chairman of the Sarasota County Committee on Economic Development. "We can all be very proud of this national recognition."

Florida cities dominated the overall list more than any other state, with six in the large, and three, including Sarasota, in the medium metro areas. “Florida has become increasingly attractive to information workers given the rapid housing inflation in the Bay Area and Boston,” suggests Donald DiFrisco, executive vice president of Palm Beach Gardens-based Cross Match Technologies. Fast-growing, smaller firms can use a repository of talent left behind by corporate relocations in the 1980s and 1990s.

Listed as one metro area, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ranked 14th among large cities. Two USF campuses in this region attract businesses interested in relationships with national-ranking research universities, and provide a source of quality graduates for the local workforce.

In Sarasota, the influx of early retirees who decide to re-enter the workforce brings quality and experience to area industries. Area beaches and a lower cost of living are an added plus. All of these qualities are putting Sarasota on the national map.