Best PlacesEast Tampa, Tampa, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East 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.
East Tampa, Tampa ranks 5,167th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in East 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.
East Tampa, Tampa's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Tampa, Tampa ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where East Tampa, Tampa ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Tampa, Tampa
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Tampa, Tampa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $45,821, 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 East Tampa, Tampa's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Tampa, Tampa
East Tampa, Tampa runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for East Tampa, Tampa.
Who works in East Tampa, Tampa, and how
Work in East Tampa, Tampa centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in East Tampa, Tampa
East Tampa, Tampa has more parkland per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 8 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of East Tampa, Tampa and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Tampa, Tampa, month by month
East Tampa, Tampa sees roughly 128 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 East Tampa, Tampa
Tampa International sits about 6 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 East Tampa, Tampa
Schools across East Tampa, Tampa average a B−, better than 61% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Patricia Sullivan Metropolitan Ministries Partnership SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Lomax Magnet Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Lockhart Elementary Magnet SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ferrell Middle Magnet SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Madison Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Orange Grove Middle Magnet SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Hillsborough High SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Middleton High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Blake High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Tampa, Tampa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East 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 East Tampa, Tampa against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who East Tampa, Tampa suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 56%.
Common questions about living in East Tampa, Tampa
Is East Tampa, Tampa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Tampa, Tampa ranks 5,167th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and low property taxes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Tampa, Tampa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,222. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $45,821 median income, cost of living beats 12% of neighborhoods.
Is East Tampa, Tampa safe?
East Tampa, Tampa is safer than 12% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $527 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in East Tampa, Tampa?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 72 with lows near 55. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of neighborhoods.
Is East Tampa, Tampa good for families?
Schools beat 61% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 12%, and childcare runs $973 a month.
Compare East Tampa, Tampa with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Tampa, Tampa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East 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.
East Tampa, Tampa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Tampa, Tampa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Tampa, Tampa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Tampa, Tampa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Tampa, Tampa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East 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.