Overall
100.9
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Cost-of-living indicators for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 100.9
- Overall RPP
- #70
- of 387 metros
- 125.8
- Rents RPP
- $99K
- $100K national buys
Tampa ranks #70 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 2.4 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Bakersfield-Delano
The verdict
Tampa is more expensive than 82% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 100.9, 0.9% above the national average, led by rents at 125.8.
- top 18%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 95.5
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 88.5
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $99,118 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $100,890.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Tampa's overall RPP fell -1.6 points, from 102.5 in 2023 to 100.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 95.3 to 88.5. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 2.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2020, when the index jumped 4.8 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Tampa overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.3 |
| 2009 | 103.3 |
| 2010 | 101.4 |
| 2011 | 100.2 |
| 2012 | 100.3 |
| 2013 | 101.2 |
| 2014 | 101.3 |
| 2015 | 100.9 |
| 2016 | 97.1 |
| 2017 | 97.0 |
| 2018 | 95.3 |
| 2019 | 96.5 |
| 2020 | 101.3 |
| 2021 | 98.8 |
| 2022 | 99.9 |
| 2023 | 102.5 |
| 2024 | 100.9 |
Tampa vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
101 Top 18% higher than 82% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Tampa cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
125.8 RPP
- Services
Services
88.5 RPP
- Overall
Overall
100.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
95.5 RPP
What this shows Tampa's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 125.8 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 88.5. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Tampa's cost comes from
Metros near Tampa's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Tampa (Tampa, this metro): goods RPP 95.5, rents RPP 125.8
- Bakersfield: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 90.3
- Ann Arbor: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 125.3
- Salt Lake City: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 123.3
- Burlington: goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 103.8
- Charleston: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 119.8
- Reno: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 123.5
Price Index Summary
Goods
95.5
Below avg
Services
88.5
Cheap
Rents
125.8
Expensive
Housing-led cost profile
How Tampa's cost structure works
Housing is the defining pressure in Tampa: rents index at 125.8, the furthest component above the national benchmark. The overall index of 100.9 places Tampa in the top quartile for cost; the rent line explains why a similar headline RPP can still require a different housing budget.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL, North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL, Reno, NV. They resemble Tampa across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Tampa's overall index has fallen by 2.4 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$100,890
in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$50,445
$75,000 nationally
$75,668
$125,000 nationally
$126,112
$150,000 nationally
$151,335
$200,000 nationally
$201,780
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
8/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
8th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
FL-relative analysis
Goods prices places Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL near the bottom of FL's metros
Among the 22 FL metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL ranks #22 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#22 of 22
0th percentile in FL
Services prices
#4 of 22
82nd percentile in FL
Rent prices
#4 of 22
82nd percentile in FL
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within FL only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (100.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (125.8 here).
Other FL Metros
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 114.2 Naples-Marco Island, FL 103.2 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 102.4 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 102.3 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 101.4 Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
View all FL metros → Cheapest in FL → Most expensive in FL →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Tampa's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 86.9 · Rents 125.1 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.2 · Rents 128.0 Reno, NV
Goods 96.3 · Services 89.3 · Rents 123.5 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.2 · Rents 123.4 Naples-Marco Island, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.8 · Rents 129.4 Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 88.2 · Rents 119.8
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL's index of 100.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Tampa
How to read Tampa's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $99,118 in Tampa. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 125.8, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Tampa head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 100.9, meaning it is 0.9% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 95.5, services at 88.5, and rents at 125.8. It ranks #70 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $100,890 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. Conversely, $100K earned in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL has the purchasing power of $99,118 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?
Rents in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL are indexed at 125.8, which is 25.8% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL's overall cost index changed by -2.4 points (from 103.3 to 100.9). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?
The priciest category in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL is rents at 125.8, 25.8% above the national average. The most affordable category is services at 88.5, 11.5% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Bakersfield-Delano, Ann Arbor, Salt Lake City-Murray. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL's 100.9.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.