Tampa Bay is improving on many of the measures that define a region’s long-term strength. Yet the pressure on household finances continues to mount.
That is the central tension in the 2026 Regional Competitiveness Summary Report, released by the Tampa Bay Partnership Foundation with Community Foundation Tampa Bay and United Way Suncoast. The report evaluates 66 indicators across eight counties – Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota – and compares the region against 19 peer and aspirational metro areas.
This year, 39 of 61 updated indicators improved. Talent and civic quality emerged as bright spots. But deeper affordability challenges persist.
Wages are rising. Tampa Bay’s average wage increased 5.14% to $66,671, outpacing the national growth rate, though the region still ranks 18th among peers. Median household income climbed to $76,741. Even households in the lowest income quintile saw gains, rising to $17,582.
Wealth also expanded. Median household net worth jumped 6.2% to $267,696, significantly faster than national growth.
Job growth remains solid. Tampa Bay posted a 1.07% job growth rate, better than the national average. The share of advanced industry jobs rose to 15.78%. Entrepreneurship remains a relative strength, with a business establishment start rate of 12.97%, well above the U.S. average.
Yet those gains are not translating evenly.
The region’s Financial Instability Rate – which includes households living in poverty or classified as ALICE, meaning asset limited, income constrained and employed – rose to 46.30%. That places Tampa Bay 19th among its 20 comparison markets and more than four percentage points worse than the national average.
Nearly half of households are working but struggling to cover basic costs.
Traditional poverty measures improved. The overall poverty rate declined to 11.09%. Youth poverty fell to 14.14%. Full-time worker poverty also edged down. But the growth of the ALICE population signals that many families remain one unexpected expense away from crisis.
Population growth remains strong, though it is moderating. The net migration rate slipped slightly from 2.20% to 2.09%, moving Tampa Bay from first to second among peers. The in-migration rate for young adults ages 25 to 34 continued a gradual decline to 8.43%.
Education indicators improved broadly. High school graduation rose to 88.61%, with economically disadvantaged student graduation climbing more than four percentage points to 83.56%. Postsecondary attainment increased at every level. The share of residents with an associate degree or higher reached 45.33%.
At the same time, opportunity youth – those ages 16 to 24 who are neither in school nor working – increased to 11.35%. Early childhood enrollment among 3- and 4-year-olds slipped to 48.25%.
Infrastructure remains a constraint. Transit ridership and digital access improved. The share of households with a computer and dedicated broadband rose to 85.51%, lifting the region to ninth among peers. But pedestrian and cyclist fatalities increased to 5.49 per 100,000 residents, and transit usage remains near the bottom of the rankings.
Innovation delivered mixed results. University research and development expenditures rose sharply to $467.2 million. Federal small business innovation awards increased 40% to $6.24 per capita. But patent production fell again, and technology licensing income declined.
In civic quality, affordability metrics improved modestly as income growth outpaced rising housing and transportation costs. Combined housing and transportation expenses now account for 53.33% of household income, a slight improvement. Still, food insecurity worsened, affecting more than 14% of residents.
The report’s overarching message is clear. Tampa Bay is making measurable progress across many drivers of competitiveness – talent development, wages, innovation and digital access among them. But housing costs, financial instability and infrastructure gaps threaten to blunt that momentum.