What salary do you need to live in Tampa, FL?

What housing costs in Tampa

A one-bedroom in Tampa rents for a median of $1,380 a month, utilities the tenant pays included; a two-bedroom goes for $1,621 and a three-bedroom for $1,896. Over a full year, the two-bedroom median comes to $19,452.

Homeowners in Tampa report a median home value of $345,100. With median household income at $74,392, a typical home costs 4.6× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

Prices overall are close to average. BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 100.9 against a US baseline of 100, so $100,000 here buys roughly $99,118 worth of the national basket.

Tampa: the pre-tax income for each grade

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $53,000, Okay at $107,000 and Comfortable at $215,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 9% of income and the median home is 1.6× income.

The Royal grade is within reach at $733,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Tampa

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 37 and a three-bedroom 33, both Tight; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Comfortable is above every row of the table here. At $150,000 a two-bedroom still grades Okay, with rent taking 13% of income.

Tampa on the national list

On price level Tampa is 70th of 387 (1 = most expensive); on two-bedroom rent it is 43rd, and on median home value 115th. The two rankings agree, both falling in the top quarter.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are New Haven, CT ($1,621) and Charlottesville, VA ($1,619).

Tampa in a Florida context

Statewide, Florida's median two-bedroom rent is $1,664 and its median home value $359,000. Tampa's rent is −3% against that, and its home value −4%; the price parity is 100.9 versus 103.4 for the state.

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $235,000, so Tampa needs $20,000 less than Florida overall.

The nearest matches in Florida, judged on rent and price parity together, are Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL, and Port St. Lucie, FL.

The median Tampa household

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $74,392, which grades Tight (35) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Reaching Comfortable would take $140,608 more than the median household earns. Statewide, the Florida median household ($74,568) grades Tight on the state's own medians. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.