thumb|right|View from Nokomis Beach, outside the Nokomis CDP, early on a summer morning
Nokomis is an unincorporated town in Sarasota County and a census-designated place (CDP) along the Gulf Coast of Florida, United States, located south of Osprey and just north of Venice. The town has access to the coast through Nokomis Public Beach and Casey Key. The town's population was 3,217 at the 2020 census, up from 3,167 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Sarasota metropolitan area.
History
thumb|Interior of the Knight Chapel, which was destroyed by the 1926 Hurricane.
The first white settlers in what is now known as Nokomis were the Knights and at least 3 other families who moved to the area in 1868. The Knights had initially raised cattle further inland during the American Civil War in an effort to avoid raids by the Union army. Following the end of hostilities, they moved closer to the shore, in the hopes that the climate of the coastal areas were better for their health. The area was initially called Horse and Chaise, which included modern day Venice. Knight donated the land for the first school and also helped build the first chapel.
In 1917, Alfred F. Wrede established the first post office with the name of Nokomis southwest of the original Venice post office. The same year, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Fred Albee purchased 112 acres from the Sarasota-Venice Company. With Ellis W. Nash, Albee created the Nokomis subdivision by subdividing the property into 130 lots, with streets radiating from two inner avenue circles and the new asphalt highway, which eventually became U.S. 41. On U.S. 41, Albee and investors built the Pollyanna Inn, a 35-room hotel.
The Florida guide, compiled in the late 1930s and first published in 1939, listed Nokomis's population as 79 and described it as "a suburb of Venice, […] separated from that town by Shackett Creek…"
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Nokomis Census Designated Place (CDP) has a total area of , of which is land and , or 15.65%, is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Nokomis had a population of 3,217. The median age was 54.4 years. 14.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 105.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.5 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,541 households in Nokomis, of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.7% were married-couple households, 26.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.