Sanibel is a somewhat small coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Florida. With a population of 6,042 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Sanibel is the 310th largest community in Florida.

Sanibel is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 88.07% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Sanibel is a city of sales and office workers, managers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Sanibel who work in management occupations (23.47%), sales jobs (19.38%), and office and administrative support jobs (10.18%).

Of important note, Sanibel is also a city of artists. Sanibel has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Sanibel's character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their homes - 13.00% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Sanibel is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the city experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller city.

Sanibel is a major retirement destination. In fact, people 65 and over make up 39.01% of the population. For those considering a place to retire, Sanibel may be a good choice because much of the city's services and social community are oriented toward the over-65 demographic.

The city is also nautical, which means that parts of Sanibel are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.30 minutes getting to work every day.

Being a small city, Sanibel does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Sanibel Information and Demographics

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Sanibel. 54.91% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 14.96%.

The per capita income in Sanibel in 2000 was $66,912, which is wealthy relative to Florida and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $267,648 for a family of four. However, Sanibel contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Sanibel home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Sanibel is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Sanibel include English, German, Irish, Italian, Polish, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Swedish, French, and Norwegian.

The most common language spoken in Sanibel is English. Some people also speak Spanish.