Manatee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Its county seat is Bradenton. Manatee County was created in 1855. It was named for the manatee or sea cow. Manatee County is part of the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area. Manatee County has a total area of approximately 893 square miles of which 83% is land and 17% water. As of the 2000 census, there were 264,002 people, 112,460 households, and 73,773 families residing in Manatee County, FL.