Tampa, FL

The affordability dashboard for Tampa, FL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 27 ZIP codes covering 717,255 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (49/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $77,778, median home value of $388,970, median rent of $1,675 per month, and 39.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,977 per month (studio $1,593, 1BR $1,696, 3BR $2,527, 4BR $3,077). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,480 per year, consuming 16% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 4.9% and poverty 15.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.