North River Ranch vs Lakewood Ranch

Size and Resident Counts

North River Ranch is the smaller of these two master-planned communities as it spans 2,600 acres in size. By comparison, Lakewood Ranch is much larger in scope as it spans 33,000 acres (roughly 50 square miles) and is just over twelve times the size of North River Ranch. In fact, Lakewood Ranch is the 2nd largest master-planned community in all of Florida narrowly being beaten out by The Villages^® Community (in north Central Florida) which comes in at 35,000 acres and spans three counties. In terms of resident counts, North River Ranch is anticipated to have roughly 28,000 residents at full community buildout whereas Lakewood Ranch is currently home to over 58,000 residents and growing.

Home Prices & Affordability

In looking at median home values in the Parrish area (where North River Ranch resides), as compared to the Lakewood Ranch area, they are roughly 30% less. The median home value in the Parrish area is roughly mid-to-upper $400’s whereas the median home value in the Lakewood Ranch area is roughly mid-to-upper $600’s. On this top-level comparison, North River Ranch offers greater affordability over the Lakewood Ranch area. Also, it’s important to point out that median home values are more like a “middle” price for home sales, and not the same as starting prices, which are less.

Town Centers and Resident Interaction

Both North River Ranch and Lakewood Ranch were designed with the concept of resident interaction through walkable, centralized town centers. These town centers not only offer convenient shopping and dining options, but also offer residents gathering spaces to enjoy social activities such as musical performances, seasonal festivities and farmers markets. North River Ranch features a village center, anchored by a HCA Florida hospital (currently under construction) as well as the nearby Market Walk with a Publix grocery store. Lakewood Ranch, being a much larger community in scale, features three distinct town centers including The Green, Main Street and Waterside Place.

School Zones & Districts

As the North River Ranch community fully resides in Manatee County, it is part of the Manatee County school district. Within walking distance of the community is the new Barbara Harvey Elementary School and the new Parrish Community High School, both opening in 2019. While a new middle school is currently under construction within the community (opening in 2025), the current Buffalo Creek Middle School is only 5 miles away. As Lakewood Ranch is larger and spans both Manatee and Sarasota Counties, it is both part of the Manatee and Sarasota County school Districts.

Now that we have overviewed some of the main differences between these communities, be sure to check out our North River Ranch and Lakewood Ranch community pages to view more photos, interactive maps and information about each respective community.