While big cities like Tampa offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Tampa. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Tampa without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Tampa are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Tampa area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Tampa for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Tampa? Redington Shores ranks as the best suburb of Tampa for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Redington Shores, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Tampa ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Florida:
The 10 Best Tampa Suburbs To Live For 2024
1. Redington Shores, FL
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Population: 2,078
Median Income: $96,250
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Redington Shores: Real Estate
Redington Shores is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Tampa area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Redington Shores.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $96,250 a year, which is the 4th highest in the Tampa region. And only 1.88% are out of work. Homes average more than $812,674 each.
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Belleair is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Tampa for 2024.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 3.53% of residents lack insurance, good for best.
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Population: 17,087
Median Income: $102,670
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Safety Harbor: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Safety Harbor, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Tampa metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Safety Harbor.
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Population: 8,905
Median Income: $112,578
Unemployment Rate: 5.7%
Poverty Rate: 6.1%
More on St. Pete Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
St. Pete Beach ranks as the 4th best suburb of Tampa for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in St. Pete Beach and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 6,590
Median Income: $87,941
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Treasure Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Treasure Island.
Treasure Island gets kudos for having the 6th most expensive homes in the Tampa area, where houses sell for an average of $634,262. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Indian Rocks Beach is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.91%.
According to online reports, Indian Rocks Beach is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Tampa area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Madeira Beach.
Madeira Beach schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 22.5 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 19,287
Median Income: $69,417
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 10.5%
More on Seminole: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Seminole is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 8.21% of people lack insurance, good for 8th in the area.
9. St. Leo, FL
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Population: 2,426
Median Income: $82,115
Unemployment Rate: 10.4%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on St. Leo: Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In St. Leo?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 36,089
Median Income: $63,824
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 8.3%
More on Dunedin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Dunedin.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Tampa for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Tampa was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Tampa.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 24 suburbs to evaluate around Tampa.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 24 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Tampa.” We’re lookin’ at you, Redington Shores.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Tampa suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Tampa ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Tampa are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Tampa but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Florida reading, check out:
Table: Best Tampa Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redington Shores, FL | 2,078 | $96,250 | $812,674 |
| 2 | Belleair, FL | 4,295 | $114,556 | $700,159 |
| 3 | Safety Harbor, FL | 17,087 | $102,670 | $519,382 |
| 4 | St. Pete Beach, FL | 8,905 | $112,578 | $715,388 |
| 5 | Treasure Island, FL | 6,590 | $87,941 | $634,262 |
| 6 | Indian Rocks Beach, FL | 3,689 | $92,283 | $890,350 |
| 7 | Madeira Beach, FL | 3,931 | $71,712 | $789,884 |
| 8 | Seminole, FL | 19,287 | $69,417 | $401,887 |
| 9 | St. Leo, FL | 2,426 | $82,115 | $518,090 |
| 10 | Dunedin, FL | 36,089 | $63,824 | $445,513 |
| 11 | St. Petersburg, FL | 259,343 | $70,333 | $375,897 |
| 12 | Gulfport, FL | 11,796 | $60,461 | $398,423 |
| 13 | Belleair Bluffs, FL | 2,476 | $51,913 | $415,321 |
| 14 | South Pasadena, FL | 5,334 | $48,490 | $363,694 |
| 15 | Tarpon Springs, FL | 25,355 | $63,836 | $424,180 |
| 16 | Largo, FL | 82,541 | $56,266 | $357,692 |
| 17 | Temple Terrace, FL | 26,818 | $62,415 | $327,406 |
| 18 | Oldsmar, FL | 14,877 | $73,984 | $398,002 |
| 19 | Mulberry, FL | 3,962 | $50,645 | $295,173 |
| 20 | Clearwater, FL | 116,984 | $59,358 | $370,771 |
| 21 | Pinellas Park, FL | 53,352 | $62,306 | $319,993 |
| 22 | Port Richey, FL | 3,132 | $44,872 | $241,688 |
| 23 | New Port Richey, FL | 16,742 | $42,254 | $315,600 |
| 24 | Zephyrhills, FL | 17,575 | $45,745 | $294,800 |
