More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround St. Petersburg to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of St. Petersburg are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which St. Petersburg ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the St. Petersburg area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to St. Petersburg proper, although Redington Shores certainly tries.
We examined the 24 biggest suburbs of St. Petersburg 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 St. Petersburg in terms of quality of life.
$60,822 median income · $353,218 median home price
Located in
Manatee County, Florida
We’ll get the ball rolling with Bradenton, the absolute worst place to live around St. Petersburg according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Bradenton beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the St. Petersburg area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 8th 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 Bradenton.
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 | Crime | Cost of living | 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 7.8 miles to St. Petersburg. Income levels here are the 6th 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
$62,621 median income · $350,685 median home price
Located in
Manatee County, Florida
Back up the highway we go for the third worst St. Petersburg suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Palmetto 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 St. Petersburg suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,475 median income · $374,888 median home price
Located in
Hillsborough County, Florida
If you live in Tampa, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 12th lowest St. Petersburg suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 7th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near St. Petersburg. Remember, we looked at 24 cities for this study.
Tampa is about 17.5 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$66,381 median income · $339,488 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Clearwater has the distinction of being a St. Petersburg suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Clearwater has the 5th lowest home values in the metro St. Petersburg area, where the median price is $339,488. The median income is $158,030.
Clearwater has an unemployment rate of 4.2% which ranks 13th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$62,096 median income · $332,210 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Largo has 82,617 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 13.1%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$72,105 median income · $412,112 median home price
Located in
Sarasota County, Florida
Ah, Sarasota. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around St. Petersburg.
It’s the place with the 17th most out of work residents in the St. Petersburg metro area (3.6%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$71,203 median income · $349,949 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Gulfport is a city about 4.2 miles from St. Petersburg, but St. Petersburg 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 14th most uninsured people, 9th worst incomes, and has the 2nd highest unemployment rate (6.2%) in the entire St. Petersburg metro area.
Homes only cost $349,949 for a reason. That’s cheap for St. Petersburg 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 St. Petersburg, then Temple Terrace might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst St. Petersburg suburb.
About 3.7% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,529 median income · $388,386 median home price
Located in
Pinellas County, Florida
Rounding out the ten worst St. Petersburg suburbs to call home is Tarpon Springs.
Located 28.0 miles outside the city, Tarpon Springs is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 14th highest unemployment rate (4.1%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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 St. Petersburg suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around St. Petersburg for 2026
To figure out how bad a St. Petersburg 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 St. Petersburg.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 24 suburbs to evaluate around St. Petersburg.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 24 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 St. Petersburg.” We’re looking at you, Bradenton.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around St. Petersburg.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst St. Petersburg Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradenton | 4.64 | 57,014 | $60,822 | $353,218 |
| 2 | Pinellas Park | 5.86 | 53,560 | $63,432 | $298,643 |
| 3 | Palmetto | 6.86 | 13,588 | $62,621 | $350,685 |
| 4 | Tampa | 7.21 | 401,618 | $75,475 | $374,888 |
| 5 | Clearwater | 7.57 | 117,247 | $66,381 | $339,488 |
| 6 | Largo | 8.21 | 82,617 | $62,096 | $332,210 |
| 7 | Sarasota | 9.21 | 56,970 | $72,105 | $412,112 |
| 8 | Gulfport | 9.43 | 11,734 | $71,203 | $349,949 |
| 9 | Temple Terrace | 9.79 | 27,275 | $69,252 | $325,256 |
| 10 | Tarpon Springs | 10.93 | 25,791 | $79,529 | $388,386 |
| 11 | Belleair Bluffs | 11.21 | 2,070 | $58,953 | $381,263 |
| 12 | Oldsmar | 11.64 | 14,904 | $88,333 | $365,724 |
| 13 | Dunedin | 11.64 | 36,062 | $74,477 | $405,386 |
| 14 | South Pasadena | 12.00 | 5,320 | $53,075 | $304,627 |
| 15 | Seminole | 12.43 | 19,396 | $75,774 | $380,864 |
| 16 | Holmes Beach | 15.36 | 3,047 | $88,333 | $961,440 |
| 17 | Madeira Beach | 15.71 | 3,953 | $75,781 | $635,855 |
| 18 | Belleair | 16.71 | 4,428 | $117,083 | $718,638 |
| 19 | Safety Harbor | 17.36 | 17,033 | $106,830 | $495,956 |
| 20 | Treasure Island | 17.64 | 6,553 | $87,107 | $523,698 |
| 21 | Indian Rocks Beach | 18.14 | 3,664 | $98,611 | $776,860 |
| 22 | St. Pete Beach | 18.57 | 8,805 | $114,583 | $600,935 |
| 23 | Longboat Key | 20.14 | 7,539 | $158,030 | $964,716 |
| 24 | Redington Shores | 21.71 | 2,009 | $106,250 | $667,111 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 24 suburbs within 30 miles of St. Petersburg.
Summary
Summary: The areas around St. Petersburg where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding St. Petersburg with Bradenton casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of St. Petersburg are Bradenton, Pinellas Park, Palmetto, Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Sarasota, Gulfport, Temple Terrace, and Tarpon Springs.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around St. Petersburg aren’t all bad. Redington Shores takes the cake as the best place to live around St. Petersburg. 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 St. Petersburg FAQs
What is the worst suburb of St. Petersburg?
Bradenton ranks as the worst suburb around St. Petersburg for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Pinellas Park and Palmetto are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of St. Petersburg?
The worst-ranked suburbs around St. Petersburg are Bradenton, Pinellas Park, Palmetto, Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Sarasota, Gulfport, Temple Terrace, and Tarpon Springs. We scored all 24 places within 30 miles.
Why does Bradenton rank as the worst suburb?
Bradenton posts the roughest combined numbers of the 24 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $60,822, a median home value of $353,218, and a poverty rate of 14.8%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near St. Petersburg?
Redington Shores lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near St. Petersburg by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of St. Petersburg 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.
