Best PlacesPlaza Terrace, Tampa, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Plaza Terrace, 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.
Plaza Terrace, Tampa ranks 5,007th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Plaza Terrace, 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.
Plaza Terrace, Tampa's strengths and weaknesses
Where Plaza Terrace, Tampa ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Plaza Terrace, Tampa ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Plaza Terrace, Tampa
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Plaza Terrace, Tampa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,869, 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 Plaza Terrace, Tampa's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Plaza Terrace, Tampa
Plaza Terrace, Tampa's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Plaza Terrace, Tampa.
Who works in Plaza Terrace, Tampa, and how
Work in Plaza Terrace, Tampa centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Plaza Terrace, Tampa
Plaza Terrace, Tampa has more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Plaza Terrace, Tampa and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Plaza Terrace, Tampa, month by month
Plaza Terrace, Tampa sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 62° | 52° |
| April | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| July | 93° | 84° | 77° |
| October | 88° | 78° | 70° |
Flying in and out of Plaza Terrace, Tampa
Tampa International sits about 3 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 Plaza Terrace, Tampa
Schools across Plaza Terrace, Tampa average a B, better than 70% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Patricia Sullivan Metropolitan Ministries Partnership SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Madison Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Pierce Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Hillsborough High SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Jefferson High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Plaza Terrace, Tampa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Plaza Terrace, 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 Plaza Terrace, Tampa against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Plaza Terrace, Tampa
Is Plaza Terrace, Tampa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Plaza Terrace, Tampa ranks 5,007th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low property taxes, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat 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 Plaza Terrace, Tampa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $314,398. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $44,869 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Plaza Terrace, Tampa safe?
Plaza Terrace, Tampa is safer than 43% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
Compare Plaza Terrace, Tampa with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Plaza Terrace, Tampa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Plaza Terrace, 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.
Plaza Terrace, Tampa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Plaza Terrace, Tampa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Plaza Terrace, Tampa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Plaza Terrace, Tampa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Plaza Terrace, Tampa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Plaza Terrace, 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.