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Regional Competitiveness Data
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Economic Vitality

Economic Vitality measures the quantity and quality of jobs within a region, the relative incomes that its residents earn, the wealth they attain, and economic opportunities for its entrepreneurs.

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Wages

Average Wages provide an indication of the buying power of the residents of a region. A common refrain during conversations about Tampa Bay's relative economic performance is the perceived difficulty of comparing the market to others, due to the mix of industries in the region. Analysis of the average wage of "service" sector workers enables Tampa Bay leaders to better understand, in context, worker earnings in this major component of the economy.

  • Average Wage
  • Average Wage Service Sector

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Advanced Industry and New Businesses

New businesses are a key source of job growth, and tracking this indicator provides insight into a community's entrepreneurial environment, regulatory structure, and availability of critical business inputs such as labor and financing.

  • New Business Start Rate
  • Advanced Gross Regional Product Growth Rate
  • Advanced Industry Job Share
  • Job Growth Rate

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Housing Prices

Rising home values increase prosperity for many citizens, and home equity is one of the primary drivers of household net worth, another important driver of regional prosperity. However, when prices accelerate too quickly, as demonstrated over the COVID-19 pandemic, and wages do not keep pace, rising home values can contribute to major concerns about affordability.

  • Existing Home Sales Price Growth Rate

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Global Competitiveness

Manufacturing exports are an indicator of global competitiveness. Selling into global markets can add growth in revenues and employment.

  • Merchandise Exports Growth Rate

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Wealth and Household Income

The level of household earnings is an indicator of the relative prosperity of a community, its buying power, and reliance on the social safety net. We track the Median Household Income, as well as and the average (mean) of the lowest 20% of household incomes which helps to assess if economic gains in the community are being spread across the entire population. Median Net Worth helps to gauge retirement income available and the level of dependency a population will have on the government or non-profits for support.

  • Mean Household Income (Lowest Quintile)
  • Median Household Net Worth
  • Median Household Income

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Innovation

Innovation measures the extent to which a community and its institutions are generating new ideas and inventions, and the market’s reception of these ideas.

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Innovation
  • Patent Awards
  • SBIR/STTR Awards
  • University Technology Licensing
  • University R&D Expenditures

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Infrastructure

Infrastructure measures the quantity and quality of the investment a region makes in underlying structures, including transportation and broadband internet.

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Safety

The quality of roadways has a direct impact on household and business expenditures and represents the safety, efficiency and desired state of repair of a community's transportation infrastructure. More and more, residents are assessing the walkability of a community as a key factor to compare the quality of life a community offers. Reducing pedestrian and cyclist fatalities is an explicit goal of our local and state transportation agencies. Pedestrian deaths disproportionately impact low-income residents. These deaths are generally viewed as a result of poor urban planning, lack of sidewalk infrastructure, and user behavior.

  • Walkability
  • Pedestrian and Cyclist Fatalities
  • Pavement Condition

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Public Transit Availability and Use

Great public transit can attract existing residents, businesses, tourists and new talent. Multi-modal transportation can make it easier and more affordable to get around, improving congestion and commute times in the process. The indicators below represent supply and demand of transit options. Vehicle Revenue Miles gauges the availability of public transit routes whereas Ridership communicates the attractiveness and functionality of mobility options.

  • Transit Ridership per Capita
  • Transit Vehicle Revenue Miles

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Air Travel

Airline Passenger Growth measures a change in the attractiveness of the region for visitors who travel for work and for leisure.

  • Airline Passenger Growth

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Commute Time

Commute times are tied to social and economic impacts for the residents and businesses of a region. The indicators below assess the average commute time, hours lost in a year from congestion, and track the percentages of individuals that commute over an hour to get from work to home, and vice versa.

  • Hours Lost to Congestion
  • Average Commute Time
  • Commuters with 1+ Hour Commutes

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Digital Access

In an increasingly technology filled world, digital access is a valuable indicator on how well households can potentially work and/or learn from home. Residents of these households are more likely to develop the digital skills that are commonly associated with high growth and high wage jobs.

  • Broadband Internet Access

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Talent

Talent measures who is working today, and how well the region’s talent pipeline is being prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.

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Credentialing and Attainment

Certificates and degree production help track the education level of the potential workforce. Jobs that require more than a high school diploma have higher wages, and high-skilled industry sectors often require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

  • Certificate Production per 10K Residents
  • Degree Production per 10K Residents: AA/AS+ (Associates and Above)
  • STEM Degree Production
  • Educational Attainment Rate: AA/AS+
  • Educational Attainment Rate: BA/BS+
  • Educational Attainment Rate: Graduate/ Professional
  • Age 25-34 Educational Attainment Rate: BA/BS+

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Participation in Labor Force

This indicator provides a broad-based view of the availability of labor (ages 25-64) in a market. With workforce identified by industry as a key component of growth, availability of a pipeline of prospective talent is imperative. It is important to look deeper into the labor market, identifying more clearly levels of educational attainment and the percentage of the labor force that is currently unemployed.

  • Disconnected Youth of America
  • Labor Force Participation Rate

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High School Indicators

A high school diploma is a key credential for future study or to enter the workforce. It gives an overview of the talent pipeline and can help flag obstacles to economic mobility. Similarly, high AP exam pass rates and SAT scores facilitate pathways to higher education.

  • Florida Talent Indicators: AP Passing Rate
  • Florida Talent Indicators: AP Testing Rate
  • Florida Talent Indicators: SAT Scores
  • High School Graduation Rate - Economically Disadvantaged
  • High School Graduation Rate

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Early Education

Early childhood education has been proven to be an early and predictable determinant of future educational and economic success. 90% of brain development occurs before age 5. Performance on the 3rd grade English Language Arts assessment is also vital to educational outcomes. Leading up to 3rd grade, a child is learning to read, and after 3rd grade children read to learn.

  • Florida Talent Indicators: English Language Arts Third Grade Reading
  • Florida Talent Indicators: Kindergarten Readiness
  • Share of 3 & 4 Year Olds Enrolled in School

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Subject Specific Course Assessment

The assessments below measure students' education gains and progress in various Math and Science courses. Understanding student proficiencies in these areas offer insights into the future STEM and overarching talent pipeline.

  • Florida Talent Indicators: Science Fifth and Eighth Grade
  • Florida Talent Indicators: Math Third and Eighth Grades
  • Florida Talent Indicators: Biology 1 EOC (Score of 3 or better)
  • Florida Talent Indicators: Algebra 1 EOC (Score of 3 or better)

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Civic Quality

Civic Quality measures the affordability of a region, the health and safety of its citizens, and the recreational opportunities that impact its quality of life.

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Quality of Life

The indicators below influence environmental health and population health outcomes. They also represent the availability of enrichment activities within a community. This is a key quality of life metric and important to retain and attract a younger generation of talent.

  • Median Daily Air Quality Index
  • Cultural & Recreational Establishments

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Affordability

The affordability of a community cannot be assessed by just looking at the cost of expenditures. The cost of housing must be viewed in the context of the income that can be earned in the community. Generally, housing costs should not exceed 30 percent of a household's total income. As housing costs climb in some areas, wages have failed to keep pace, and this discrepancy may put a large segment of the population at risk. Transportation costs are a family’s second highest expense, behind housing.

  • Share of Transportation Expenditures
  • Share of Housing Expenditures
  • Share of Housing and Transportation Expenditures

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Food Access

Struggles with hunger may reflect the need for households to make trade-offs between multiple basic needs, and among children may affect academic, physical, and social development.

  • Food Insecurity

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Healthcare

When populations have a high rate of insurance coverage the community can manifest better health outcomes and reduce reliance on urgent-care facilities for non-emergency medical issues. The share of residents with health insurance may also be an indirect indicator of job quality within a region. The number of mental health and primary care practitioners also help track access to these resources.

  • Mental Health Providers
  • Primary Care Physicians
  • Share of Population with Health Insurance

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Foster Care

Monitoring the number of children in foster care is a barometer of societal issues that may be developing in a community. According to research by the American Academy of Pediatrics, most foster children have been victims of repeated abuse and prolonged neglect. Beyond serving as an indicator of potentially chronic societal problems, these foster children require intensive assistance and support from public and private people and institutions.

  • Share of Children in Foster Care

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Crime

Provides a broad measure of safety and security.

  • Total Crime Index
  • Violent Crime Index

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Outcomes

Outcomes measure the growth of the regional economy, the extent to which economic growth is being enjoyed by everyone, and the attractiveness of the region for its current and potential residents.

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New Residents

Population growth is a sign that people are moving to the region due to attributes and assets. The population aged 25-34 is primarily composed of young workers starting and accelerating their careers, and this age set is a critical indicator informing regional economic performance. Together, these indicators give illuminating insights about the attractiveness of the region to new residents.

  • Net Migration
  • In-Migration Rate Age 25-34

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Economic Growth

Gross Regional Product (GRP) Growth Rate is regarded as a comprehensive, high-level measure of the overall output and growth of the regional economy. Measuring the GRP on a per capita basis provides a way to measure the performance of one region relative to other regions.

  • Gross Regional Product (GRP) Growth
  • Gross Regional Product (GRP)

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Poverty

Measuring and comparing our poverty rate to our comparison set provides a top-level indicator of our region's household prosperity.

  • ALICE + Poverty Rate
  • Poverty Rate
  • Youth Poverty Rate
  • Full-Time Worker Poverty Rate

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Unemployment

The unemployment rate measures the percentage of people ages 25-64 who are looking for work as a share of the labor force, and provides a measure of the overall growth or contraction of the economy.

  • Unemployment Rate

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The Region

For the purpose of the Regional Competitiveness Report, the data presented for the Tampa Bay region reflects the eight counties of Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota.

About

The Tampa Bay Partnership is a coalition of regional business and nonprofit leaders, joined by a shared commitment to improving the personal and economic well-being of Tampa Bay residents. Through its foundation, the Partnership conducts objective, data-driven research to identify the region’s greatest challenges and measure our progress toward shared community goals. This work includes the Regional Competitiveness Report, which helps measure our region's performance against other communities nationwide.

Innovation

Innovation measures the extent to which a community and its institutions are generating new ideas and inventions, and the market’s reception of these ideas.

Best Practices & Deeper Dives

How to Read the Tiles How to Read the Tiles

Innovation

Indicators

See Our Methodology
Patent Awards
SBIR/STTR Awards
University Technology Licensing
University R&D Expenditures

2025 TAKEAWAYS

Values improved in 75% of the indicators we track but fell in Patent Production per 10,000 Residents.

On a more granular level, Tampa Bay increased its research and development expenditures by $2.7 million, reaching $409.63 million, while retaining its 16th place rank for the fifth consecutive year. Houston leads the competitive set at over $4 billion.

University technology licensing income rose by over $900,000 (23%) to nearly $4.8 million, though the region’s ranking fell from 11th to 14th, with Atlanta leading at nearly $294 million. Patent production rates dropped over 50% to 1.37 patents per 10,000 residents, causing a ranking decline from 16th to 19th, while San Diego leads at 19.63 patents per 10,000 residents.

Tampa Bay’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards per capita improved year-over-year to $3.80, with a ranking increase to 18th, though it remains well below the national average of $11.66, while Raleigh-Durham leads at $47.61 per capita.

INCREASING VALUES

  • More Patents
  • More SBIR/STTR Awards
  • More Licensing Income
  • More R&D Expenditures

DECREASING VALUES

  • Less Patents
  • Less SBIR/STTR Awards 
  • Less Licensing Income 
  • Less R&D Expenditures

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

  • Funding
  • Size of metro area
  • Research universities
  • Size of business community
  • Partnerships between businesses and research universities 
  • STEM Industries, and talent pipeline
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