March 28, 2024

Community Portrait

Tampa & Hillsborough County

More than just gathering data, we're trying to capture elements that make each community distinctive.

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Tampa skyline
Panaoramic view of downtown Tampa at sunset [Photo: Tim Healy]

Who Lives Here?

» The Count

Hillsborough County: 1.17 million (6% of state’s population)
Incorporated areas: Tampa: 332,888, Plant City, 32,328, Temple Terrace, 22,461

» Growth

Between 2000-06, the county’s population grew faster than Florida’s population overall (16% vs. 13.2%). The city of Tampa’s population during that period grew by around 10%. Leading sources of residents who move to the area: Nearby Florida counties, New York and New Jersey.

» Ethnicity

White Black Hispanic/Latino
County 78.4% 16.5% 22.1%
Tampa 64.2 26.1 19.3
State 80.2 15.8 20.2

» Young at Heart

Median Age % over 65
County and city 35.5 12%
State 39.6 17%

Nearly a third of the county’s households have children under 18, although school enrollments shrank by more than 2,200 students from 2007 to 2008. Families encompass 57.1% of the population.

» Born Again

The most recent surveys, which date to 2000, reflect a strong evangelical bent in the county’s religious makeup.

Catholic: 166,122
Evangelical Protestant: 159,428
Mainline Protestant: 61,603
Jewish: 20,000
Orthodox: 1,029
Other: 29,243
Unclaimed: 581,523

» Consumer Behavior

The Tampa Bay region includes the heaviest smokers in Florida.

Sales of denture products are 85% above average.

Wine buyers here prefer wine under $10.

Consumers here are 30% more likely than those elsewhere in the state or nation to own a large domestic car.

» Declaring Independence

A bellwether county, Hillsborough has shifted from a heavily Democratic to a highly competitive county with a higher-than-average proportion of independent voters. It has almost equal proportions of young, middle-aged, and older voters.

2008 Presidential Election
Obama: 53.06% (51% statewide)
McCain: 45.93% (48% statewide)

» Home Fronts

Davis Island — Historic, 1920s-vintage neighborhood near downtown where many of the city’s wealthy live. It’s home to the Davis Island Yacht Club and Tampa General Hospital.

Hyde Park — This historic district near the University of Tampa is one of the city’s original neighborhoods, located across the Hillsborough River and west of downtown. Hyde Park Village is an open-air, trendy shopping district.

South Tampa — Old-charm neighborhood south of the downtown area.

Carrollwood — One of the first major suburban developments in northern Tampa.

Brandon/Valrico — Fast-growing sprawl.

Avila — Gated suburban haven for execs and big-money NFL players.


» Immigration Factor

About one in six residents of the county was foreign-born as of midyear 2007 — an increase of 57.4% from the 2000 Census. Most foreign-born residents come from Cuba (25%) and Mexico (11%). One in five residents of the county speaks a language other than English at home — slightly less than the state average of 23%.


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Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

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