More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Tampa to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Tampa are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Tampa ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Tampa area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Tampa proper, although Redington Shores certainly tries.
We examined the 23 biggest suburbs of Tampa to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Florida lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Tampa in terms of quality of life.
$51,121 median income · $227,759 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Port Richey, the absolute worst place to live around Tampa according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Port Richey beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Tampa area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Port Richey.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Movers
$63,432 median income · $298,643 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Welcome to Pinellas Park. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 15.9 miles to Tampa. Income levels here are the 8th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $63,432 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$47,606 median income · $289,102 median home price
Located in
Pasco County, Florida
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Tampa suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see New Port Richey on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Tampa suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,108 median income · $304,732 median home price
Located in
Pasco County, Florida
If you live in Zephyrhills, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest Tampa suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 15th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Tampa. Remember, we looked at 23 cities for this study.
Zephyrhills is about 26.1 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$66,381 median income · $339,488 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Clearwater has the distinction of being a Tampa suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Clearwater has the 9th lowest home values in the metro Tampa area, where the median price is $339,488. The median income is $117,083.
Clearwater has an unemployment rate of 4.2% which ranks 12th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$57,708 median income · $285,079 median home price
Mulberry has 4,188 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 19.8%.
Data | Movers
$62,096 median income · $332,210 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Ah, Largo. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Tampa.
It’s the place with the 6th most out of work residents in the Tampa metro area (4.8%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,203 median income · $349,949 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Gulfport is a city about 20.9 miles from Tampa, but Tampa probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Gulfport has the 13th most uninsured people, 11th worst incomes, and has the highest unemployment rate (6.2%) in the entire Tampa metro area.
Homes only cost $349,949 for a reason. That’s cheap for Tampa standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$69,252 median income · $325,256 median home price
Located in
Hillsborough County, Florida
If you absolutely have to live near Tampa, then Temple Terrace might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Tampa suburb.
About 3.7% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,192 median income · $347,964 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Rounding out the ten worst Tampa suburbs to call home is St. Petersburg.
Located 17.5 miles outside the city, St. Petersburg is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 7th highest unemployment rate (4.7%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Florida’s statewide median.
Florida statewide median: $74,568
Florida statewide median: $375,662
Florida statewide median: 4.8%
Florida statewide median: 12.6%
On the map
Where the worst Tampa suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Tampa for 2026
To figure out how bad a Tampa suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Tampa.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 23 suburbs to evaluate around Tampa.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 23 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Tampa.” We’re looking at you, Port Richey.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Tampa.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Tampa Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port Richey | 3.86 | 3,364 | $51,121 | $227,759 |
| 2 | Pinellas Park | 5.86 | 53,560 | $63,432 | $298,643 |
| 3 | New Port Richey | 6.57 | 17,425 | $47,606 | $289,102 |
| 4 | Zephyrhills | 7.36 | 19,668 | $52,108 | $304,732 |
| 5 | Clearwater | 7.43 | 117,247 | $66,381 | $339,488 |
| 6 | Mulberry | 8.00 | 4,188 | $57,708 | $285,079 |
| 7 | Largo | 8.07 | 82,617 | $62,096 | $332,210 |
| 8 | Gulfport | 9.57 | 11,734 | $71,203 | $349,949 |
| 9 | Temple Terrace | 10.07 | 27,275 | $69,252 | $325,256 |
| 10 | St. Petersburg | 10.71 | 262,732 | $75,192 | $347,964 |
| 11 | Tarpon Springs | 11.07 | 25,791 | $79,529 | $388,386 |
| 12 | Belleair Bluffs | 11.64 | 2,070 | $58,953 | $381,263 |
| 13 | Dunedin | 11.93 | 36,062 | $74,477 | $405,386 |
| 14 | Oldsmar | 12.57 | 14,904 | $88,333 | $365,724 |
| 15 | South Pasadena | 12.57 | 5,320 | $53,075 | $304,627 |
| 16 | Seminole | 13.14 | 19,396 | $75,774 | $380,864 |
| 17 | Madeira Beach | 15.43 | 3,953 | $75,781 | $635,855 |
| 18 | Belleair | 16.86 | 4,428 | $117,083 | $718,638 |
| 19 | Safety Harbor | 17.50 | 17,033 | $106,830 | $495,956 |
| 20 | Treasure Island | 17.64 | 6,553 | $87,107 | $523,698 |
| 21 | Indian Rocks Beach | 18.29 | 3,664 | $98,611 | $776,860 |
| 22 | St. Pete Beach | 18.71 | 8,805 | $114,583 | $600,935 |
| 23 | Redington Shores | 21.14 | 2,009 | $106,250 | $667,111 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 23 suburbs within 30 miles of Tampa.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Tampa where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Tampa with Port Richey casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Tampa are Port Richey, Pinellas Park, New Port Richey, Zephyrhills, Clearwater, Mulberry, Largo, Gulfport, Temple Terrace, and St. Petersburg.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Tampa aren’t all bad. Redington Shores takes the cake as the best place to live around Tampa. Not sold on Florida? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Tampa FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Tampa?
Port Richey ranks as the worst suburb around Tampa for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Pinellas Park and New Port Richey are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Tampa?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Tampa are Port Richey, Pinellas Park, New Port Richey, Zephyrhills, Clearwater, Mulberry, Largo, Gulfport, Temple Terrace, and St. Petersburg. We scored all 23 places within 30 miles.
Why does Port Richey rank as the worst suburb?
Port Richey posts the roughest combined numbers of the 23 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $51,121, a median home value of $227,759, and a poverty rate of 20.7%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Tampa?
Redington Shores lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Tampa by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Tampa list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
