The Tampa Bay Area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. The exact boundaries of the metro area can differ in different contexts. Hillsborough County and Pinellas County (including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and several smaller communities) make up the most limited definition. The United States Census Bureau defines the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as including Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties along with Hernando and Pasco Counties to the north. "Tampa Bay Area" could also refer to the greater Tampa Bay media market, which includes all of the counties in the Tampa Bay MSA along with Citrus County to the north, Sarasota and Manatee Counties to the south, and Polk County to the east.
The population of the Tampa Bay MSA is estimated at 3,030,953 people as of January 2017 and between 2010 and 2015 the population is estimated to have grown 6.9%. For 2014 to 2015 the U.S. Census data estimated an annual growth of 2.0 percent or 54,412 people.
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Cities
The following is a list of important cities and unincorporated communities located in both the core Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA
Principal cities
Each of these cities has a population in excess of 100,000 inhabitants.
- Tampa
- St. Petersburg
- Clearwater
- Brandon (CDP)
- Spring Hill (CDP)
More than 10,000 inhabitants
Ref: 2010 Census
Demographics
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA consists of the following ethnic demographics:
- White (Non-Hispanic/Latino) - 1,821,955 76.0%
- Hispanic - 248,642 10.4%
- Black - 248,058 10.4%
- Asian/Pacific Islander - 57,235 2.4%
Age
Nearly 20% of Tampa Bay's population is in the 18-34 age group.
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino by Origin
Migration
From 2000 to 2004, total net migration for the Tampa Bay region was 262,961 or an average of 65,740 per year. During this time Tampa Bay accounted for nearly 20% of Florida's total net migration. The annual migration totals grew steadily since 2000 until 200 people a day moved to Tampa Bay in 2004. Two Tampa Bay region counties are among the top counties in the country for net in-migration. Pasco County ranks 8th in the nation for net migration and Hillsborough County ranks 13th out of more than 3,000 counties.
Geography
The Tampa Bay area is located along Tampa Bay which it is named for. Pinellas County and St. Petersburg, Florida lies on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the city of Tampa, Florida lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay.
Climate
The Tampa Bay area has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with hot, humid summers, with daily thunderstorms, and dry, often sunny winters. On average, two days experience frost per year in the Tampa Bay area; however, hard freezes (low temperatures below 28 °F/-2 °C) are very rare, occurring only a few times in the last 75 years. The area is listed by the United States Department of Agriculture as being in hardiness zone 9b, which is about the northern limit of where coconut palms and royal palms can be grown. Highs usually range between 65 and 95 °F (18 and 35 °C) year-round. Tampa's official high has never reached 100 °F (38 °C)--the all-time record high temperature is 99 °F (37 °C). St. Petersburg's all-time record high is exactly 100 °F (38 °C).
Pinellas County lies on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the city of Tampa lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay. This proximity to large bodies of water both moderates local temperatures and introduces large amounts of humidity into the atmosphere. In general, the communities farthest from the coast have more extreme temperature differences, both during a single day and throughout the seasons of the year.
Economy
Finance & insurance
Nearly one in four of the state's business and information services firms resides in Tampa Bay. These firms range from financial services firms to information technology providers to professional services organizations such as law firms, accounting firms, engineering firms, consulting and more. As a gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor, Tampa Bay is home to many information technology firms along with many business services providers.
Financial services firms:
- Bank of America
- JPMorgan Chase
- Citigroup
- Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
- Raymond James Financial
- Franklin Templeton
- Metlife
- USAA
- Progressive Insurance
- State Farm
Health care
With more than 50 hospitals, dozens of clinics and ambulatory care centers, the Tampa Bay has an abundance of top-rated health care facilities for children and adults. The region also has a wealth of well-trained medical professionals--nearly 53,000 nurses and more than 9,200 physicians (including physician assistants)--provide care to Tampa Bay residents and visitors every year.
Tampa Bay ranks in the top 20 nationwide for medical device manufacturing clusters. The industry employs more than 10,000 people with an average wage in excess of $49,000 and produces over $2 billion worth of goods and services for an economic impact of more than 51,000 jobs and $5 billion. Tampa Bay's history of manufacturing for the defense industry has created a workforce skilled in high-precision fabrication of electronic parts and assemblies and experience in dealing with government relations, easing the transition to the highly regulated medical manufacturing industry.
Information technology
Tampa Bay serves as the gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor which spans 23 counties. Created as a partnership between the University of South Florida, University of Central Florida and now including the University of Florida, the Florida High Tech Corridor promotes the growth of the high-tech industry across Central Florida.
Higher education and research
Academic research is a key component of high-tech growth and a powerful economic engine. The presence of cutting-edge research in the region is vital to technology transfer, which enables innovative ideas discovered in academia to achieve commercialization in the marketplace. Tampa Bay has several powerhouse research centers that are engaged in both pure scientific research and aggressively pursuing technology transfer to enrich people's lives.
Researchers at the University of South Florida's Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Research Center (NNRC), H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and the Center for Ocean Technogy at USF's College of Marine Science are researching how to use nanotechnology for a myriad of targeted uses including drug delivery, mechanized microsurgery, customized laser microchips, ways to turn sunlight into electricity, purifying water, storing hydrogen in small nanotubes, designing and developing marine sensors using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and curing cancer. University of Tampa is located in Downtown Tampa, FL on the Hillsborough River and is a historic university linked back to Teddy Roosevelt.
Housing
In 2008 the area's construction based boom was brought to a sudden halt by the financial crisis of 2007-2010, and by 2009 it was ranked as the fourth worst performing housing market in the United States.
Changes in house prices for the area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case-Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.
Avionics, defense, and marine electronics
The University of South Florida's Center for Ocean Technology, which has been a leader in microelectromechanical systems research and development and has been using the technology to collect biological and chemical data to monitor water quality, provided underwater technology for port security at the 2004 Republican National Convention. USF's Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue used its miniature robots to assist rescue teams at Ground Zero following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Tampa Bay is also the location of three major military installations, MacDill Air Force Base, Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater and Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg. MacDill AFB is home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing (6 AMW) of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) and the 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW) of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). Both wings share flight operations of a fleet of KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft and the 6 AMW also operates a fleet of C-37A Gulfstream V aircraft. MacDill AFB also hosts multiple tenant organizations, to include two major combatant commands: United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), which directs military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East; and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which has responsibility for all special operations forces in the U.S. Armed Forces. CGAS Clearwater is located at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. It is the largest air station in the United States Coast Guard, operating HC-130H Hercules aircraft and MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters with principal missions focused on search and rescue, counternarcotics interdiction, and homeland security. The HC-130 aircraft are slated to be replaced by new HC-27J Spartan aircraft beginning in 2017. Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg is located on the site of the former Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg at Albert Whitted Airport. It is home to Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg and is homeport for the USCGC Resolute (WMEC 620), USCGC Venturous (WMEC 625), and numerous smaller cutters and patrol boats.
Education
Primary and secondary education is provided by the school districts of the individual counties making up the region.
The area is home to several institutions of higher learning, including the main campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa and the satellite campuses of USF St. Petersburg. Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, the University of Tampa, Clearwater Christian College, Florida College in Temple Terrace, Trinity College (Florida) in New Port Richey, are all four-year institutions located in the area. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Troy University also maintain satellite education centers at MacDill AFB.
There are two law schools in the area, Stetson University College of Law and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Stetson University has campuses in Gulfport and Tampa. The newly built (May 2012) Thomas M. Cooley Law school is located in Riverview.
Hillsborough Community College, St. Petersburg College, and Pasco-Hernando State College are community colleges serving the area.
Culture
The Tampa Bay area is home to a high concentration of quality art museums. Long established communities, particularly those near the bay such as Cuban influenced Ybor City, Old Northeast in St. Petersburg, and Palma Ceia and Hyde Park in Tampa contain historic architecture. Fresh seafood and locally grown produce are available in many restaurants and in weekly farmers' markets in multiple urban centers in the area. Yuengling, the largest American-owned brewer, operates a brewery in Tampa, as does the highly regarded craft brewer Cigar City Brewing.
Arts and culture make a big impact in Tampa Bay. In a single year, the economic impact of the cultural institutions in the Tampa Bay area was $521.3 million, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study. In 2004 5.6 million people attended plays, musical performances, museum exhibits, and other cultural institutions in Tampa Bay, supporting 7,800 jobs.
Museums
- Museum of Fine Arts near the Pier in downtown St. Petersburg
- Salvador Dalí Museum in downtown St. Petersburg
- Florida International Museum at St. Petersburg College in downtown St. Petersburg
- Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg
- Tampa Museum of Art in downtown Tampa
- USF Contemporary Art Museum on the USF's main Tampa campus
- Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in downtown Tampa
- Museum of Science and Industry adjacent to USF's main Tampa campus
- Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park
- Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College
- The Royal Theater & Manhattan Casino Historic Landmarks in St. Petersburg
- The Carter J. Woodson African-American Museum St. Petersburg
Performing Arts Halls
- Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa
- Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater
- Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg
Cultural events
- Gasparilla Pirate Festival held every January in Tampa
- Florida Strawberry Festival held every March in Plant City
- Clearwater Jazz Holiday held every October in Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater; in its 32nd year
- Guavaween, a Latin-flavored Halloween celebration held every October in the Ybor City section of Tampa
- Festa Italiana, annual festival of Italian heritage held every April in Ybor City, Tampa's Latin Quarter
Recreation
The Tampa Bay area is highly noted for its beaches, with the warm, blue gulf waters and nearly 70 miles of barriers islands from North Pinellas south to Venice, attracting tourists from all over the world. Three of the beaches in this area, Fort De Soto's North Beach (2005), Caladesi Island (2008), and Sarasota's Siesta Key (2011) have been named by Dr. Beach as America's Top Beach. The 15th IIFA Awards would be held at Tampa Bay Area in April 2014.
Sports attractions, in addition to the teams listed below, include many professional quality golf courses, tennis courts, and pools. Ybor and the Channel District in Tampa, downtown St. Petersburg, and the beaches all along the coast all attract a vibrant nightlife.
Theme parks
- Adventure Island in Tampa
- Busch Gardens in Tampa
- Dinosaur World in Plant City
- Weeki Wachee Springs in Hernando County
Zoos and Aquariums
- Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa
- Florida Aquarium in Tampa
- Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater
- Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores
Botanical gardens
- Florida Botanical Gardens, part of the Pinewood Cultural Park in Largo
- Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, a former tourist attraction now run by the City of St. Petersburg
- USF Botanical Gardens in Tampa
Notable public parks and recreation areas
The Tampa Bay area is home to an extensive system of state, county, and city parks. Hillsborough River State Park in Thonotosassa is one of Florida's original eight state parks and Honeymoon Island State Park, near Dunedin, is Florida's most visited state park. Pinellas County is home to the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, a 37-mile running and cycling trail over a former railroad bed connecting Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg. Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, the remnants of the approaches to the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge forms the world's largest fishing pier in Pinellas and Manatee counties. The shallow waters and many mangrove islands of the bay and gulf make the area popular with kayakers. The gulf is also home to a large number of natural and artificial coral reefs that are popular for fishing and scuba diving.
Sports
Sports teams
The Tampa Bay Area is home to three major professional sports teams -- the Buccaneers (NFL), Rays (MLB), and Lightning (NHL). The Tampa Bay area also hosts a number of minor-league and college teams. Regardless of the specific city where they play their games, all of the major pro teams use "Tampa Bay" in their name to signify that they represent the entire area.
MLB spring training teams
Major League Baseball teams have come to the Tampa Bay area for spring training since the Chicago Cubs played in Tampa 1913 and the St. Louis Browns played in St. Petersburg in 1914. Grapefruit League games are still a favorite pastime for both residents and tourists alike every March. The following six Major League Baseball teams play spring training games in the Tampa Bay area:
- The New York Yankees play at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa
- The Philadelphia Phillies play at Spectrum Field in Clearwater
- The Toronto Blue Jays play at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin
Minor League teams
Minor League baseball teams in the area include: Florida State League (Single-A baseball)
- The Tampa Yankees: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa
- The Clearwater Threshers: Spectrum Field in Clearwater
- The Dunedin Blue Jays: Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin
Sporting events
Major League sports
- Four Super Bowls have been held in Tampa: Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, Super Bowl XXV in 1991, Super Bowl XXXV in 2001, and Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. The 1978 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was held in Tampa at Tampa Stadium
- The 2008 MLB World Series; Games 1 and 2 were played in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field
- The 1999 NHL All Star Game was held in Tampa at the Ice Palace. The 2004 NHL Stanley Cup Finals; Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 were played in Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum
NCAA sports
- The NCAA football Outback Bowl is held annually at Raymond James Stadium, usually on January 1. The NCAA football St. Petersburg Bowl is held annually at Tropicana Field, usually in December. (Began in 2008). The NCAA football East-West Shrine Game is held annually at Tropicana Field, usually in January. (Since 2012)
- The 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship was held at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017.
- Two NCAA football ACC Championship Games (2008 and 2009) have been played in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium
- The Amalie Arena in Tampa has been the site for various rounds of NCAA Men's and Women's basketball championship tournament over the years, as well as conference tournaments. The 1999 NCAA Men's Final Four was held in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field. The 2008 and 2015 NCAA Women's Final Four was held in Tampa at the Tampa Bay Times Forum
- Five NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championships have been held in Tampa: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1990 and 1991
- The 2012 and 2016 NCAA Men's Frozen Four were held in Tampa at the Tampa Bay Times Forum/Amalie Arena
Transportation
Transportation in the Tampa Bay Area is heavily affected by its position around Tampa Bay. For more about marine transportation in the area, including the many bridges over Tampa Bay, see Tampa Bay#Transportation.
Air
Tampa International Airport is the largest airport in the region with 21 carriers and more than 17 million passengers served last year. In addition to the recent opening of a new terminal, improvements are being planned to handle 25 million passengers by 2020.
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport provides access to commercial airliners, and smaller charter craft. The airport is currently planning an expansion which will include new terminal facilities and runway extension. Dotting the landscape throughout the area, are many general aviation airports for the aircraft enthusiast and smaller corporate jets.
Rail
Amtrak provides passenger rail service from Union Station in Tampa.
CSX provides freight rail service for the entire Tampa Bay region. The railroad serves every major population and industrial center east of the Mississippi including Ontario and Montreal. CSX also connects with more than 166 bulk intermodal distribution terminals and rail-to-truck bulk transloading facilities throughout its service area, linking it to all of North America.
Transit systems
Bus service is provided in Hillsborough County by Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), in Pinellas County by Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), in Pasco County by Pasco County Public Transportation and in Hernando County by THE Bus. HART and PSTA provide express services between Tampa and Pinellas County, and PSTA provides connections to Pasco County.
HART also operates the TECO streetcar between downtown Tampa and Ybor City. In 2013 HART also began operating a Bus rapid transit system called MetroRapid that runs from downtown Tampa to the University of South Florida.
On July 1, 2007, an intermodal transportation authority was created to serve the seven county Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) was formed to develop bus, rapid transit, and other transportation options for the region.
Roads and freeways
The Tampa Bay Area is served by these interstate highways.
- Interstate 4
- Interstate 75
- Interstate 175
- Interstate 275
- Interstate 375
Hillsborough County is also served by other roadways such as the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway (SR 618) which commutes workers from Brandon into downtown Tampa and the Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway (Toll 589) which serves traffic from the Citrus/Hernando County border southward into Tampa.
In Pinellas County, U.S. 19 is the main north-south route through the county, and is being upgraded to freeway standards complete with frontage roads to ease congestion through the north part of the county. Also, the Bayside Bridge allows traffic to go from Clearwater into St. Petersburg without having to use U.S. 19.
The Courtney Campbell Causeway (SR 60) is one of the three roads that connect Pinellas County to Hillsborough County across the bay. The other two are the Howard Frankland Bridge (I-275) and Gandy Bridge (U.S. 92). The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is part of I-275 and connects Bradenton and other Manatee County and Sarasota County commuters into Pinellas County.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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