2025 TAKEAWAYS
Tampa Bay saw positive incremental progress across all four poverty-related indicators, likely connected to shifts in other affordability indicators tracked in the Civic Quality section.
The region’s general Poverty Rate declined from 12.45% to 11.96%, an improvement of nearly half a percentage point, outpacing the national rate’s decrease of 0.12%. Youth Poverty Rates also showed notable improvement, dropping from 16.83% to 14.86%, with a ranking increase from 17th to 15th. Full-Time Worker Poverty Rate also improved.
In contrast to the U.S. average, which worsened, the Tampa Bay region’s year-over-year improvements in ALICE + Poverty Rate propelled our rank forward from 19th to 17th place. Despite positive progress, a shocking 45.81% of Tampa Bay residents are still classified as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) or in poverty, which remains 15 percentage points higher than Seattle (30.81%), the top performer, and 3 percentage points behind the U.S. Average.