Welcome to Sanibel ...

The coastal city of Sanibel is located in Lee County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Sanibel, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1895.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Sanibel has a population of 7,413 people<2> (see below for details).

Sanibel is near sea level<3>.

Time Zone: Sanibel lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Sanibel is within the (239) area code.

The ZIP code for Sanibel: 33957<4>

Websites for Sanibel ...

Official Website:   www.mysanibel.com/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.iloveleecounty.com/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Sanibel had an population of 7,413 people. This is an increase of 14.59% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 22.25% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Sanibel had a population of 6,469 people. This makes Sanibel the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Sanibel represents 0.03% of the population of Florida (which has 18,801,310 people), making it the state's 190th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 6,469 people, the population of Sanibel increased 6.68% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 6,064 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Sanibel.

Communities near Sanibel ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Sanibel.

• Cape Coral
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Coral
  • Cape Coral is located in Lee County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 200,972 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cape Coral <5>
• Fort Myers
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Myers
  • Fort Myers is located in Lee County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 91,086 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Myers <5>
• Bonita Springs
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonita Springs
  • Bonita Springs is located in Lee County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 60,830 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonita Springs <5>
• Estero
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estero
  • Estero is located in Lee County
  • Estero has also been known as:
  • Estero Village
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Estero <5>
• Saint James City
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James City
  • Saint James City is located in Lee County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint James City <5>
• Fort Myers Beach
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Myers Beach
  • Fort Myers Beach is located in Lee County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,117 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Myers Beach <5>
• Shell Point Village
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Point Village have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Point Village
  • Shell Point Village is located in Lee County
• Truckland ‑ Historic
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truckland have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truckland
  • Truckland is located in Lee County
• Iona
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iona have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iona
  • Iona is located in Lee County
• Harlem Heights
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem Heights
  • Harlem Heights is located in Lee County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Sanibel. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Sanibel.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Sanibel. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sanibel.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Sanibel. See our Newspapers Page for Sanibel.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Sanibel ...

Looking for more information about Sanibel? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Sanibel, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Sanibel.

Adding Sanibel to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Sanibel in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Sanibel was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

We also found Sanibel on a map titled Shell Oil Road Map for Florida (1956).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Sanibel.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Sanibel: www.mysanibel.com/

The official website for Lee County: www.lee-county.com/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/