How we compare

Living in a capitalistic, competitive society, we all like to know how we compare. Are we best? Worst? First? Last?

The Tampa Bay Partnership, a coalition of 40 regional business and nonprofit leaders, tracks the Greater Tampa Bay area in 67 metrics that are compared to 19 peer regions.

The eight counties include Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus. 

The 19 peer regions include South Florida, Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, Baltimore, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland and Seattle.

In the accompanying table, you can see how this region ranks in a sampling of the 67 metrics. We have work to do. Tampa Bay ranked in the bottom half in 77% of the metrics compared to the 16 non-Florida regions and ranked last in five of the nine metrics that ranked the four Florida regions.

As the table shows, it’s not all bad news. According to the 2025 Regional Competitive Report:

“Tampa Bay remains a magnet for talent, families and businesses, ranking first in net migration and in the top five business startup rates and seventh for in-migration of young professionals. 

“Additionally, the 2025 report highlights year-over-year improvements in an outstanding 43 of 67 metrics (64%), and over a third of the indicators (23) climbed in rank.”

What’s more, in Florida, Tampa Bay ranks second in SAT scores and kindergarten readiness.