Best PlacesDowntown Tampa, Tampa, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Tampa, Tampa, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Tampa, Tampa ranks 1,978th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Tampa, Tampa
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Tampa, Tampa's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Tampa, Tampa ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Tampa, Tampa ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Tampa, Tampa
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Tampa, Tampa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,681, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Tampa, Tampa's effective rate of 0.77%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Tampa, Tampa
Downtown Tampa, Tampa runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Tampa, Tampa.
Who works in Downtown Tampa, Tampa, and how
Work in Downtown Tampa, Tampa centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Downtown Tampa, Tampa
Downtown Tampa, Tampa has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 3 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Downtown Tampa, Tampa and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Tampa, Tampa, month by month
Downtown Tampa, Tampa sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 72, with lows near 55. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72° | 62° | 55° |
| April | 85° | 75° | 67° |
| July | 92° | 84° | 78° |
| October | 87° | 78° | 71° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Tampa, Tampa
Tampa International sits about 5 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.1 million passengers in 2025, with 135 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown Tampa, Tampa
Schools across Downtown Tampa, Tampa average a B, better than 72% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Patricia Sullivan Metropolitan Ministries Partnership SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stewart Middle Magnet SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Madison Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Blake High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Tampa, Tampa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Tampa, Tampa measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Tampa, Tampa against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Tampa, Tampa
Is Downtown Tampa, Tampa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Tampa, Tampa ranks 1,978th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, state infrastructure, and transit, and lowest on noise and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Tampa, Tampa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $515,400. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $77,681 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Tampa, Tampa safe?
Downtown Tampa, Tampa is safer than 50% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Tampa, Tampa with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Tampa, Tampa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Tampa, Tampa represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Tampa, Tampa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Tampa, Tampa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Tampa, Tampa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Tampa, Tampa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Tampa, Tampa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Tampa, Tampa detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.