City DwellingsSt. Petersburg is a city that boomed while the big bands played. Throughout the 1920s, '30s and ' 40s, its red brick streets welcomed springtime baseball greats, Hollywood legends, war heroes and winter-weary northern visitors. As a new century begins, the Sunshine City enters its second golden age. Glistening under the Florida sunshine, it feels like a city that's on a never ending summer vacation. But the quarter of a million people who live here whisper that it's the best kept secret in America. A place where beaches meet the boardroom, and front porches open onto a lifetime of Florida fun in the sun.
Home to some of the world's finest beaches, and a world record holder for ht most consecutive days of sunshine - 768 days in a row - St. Petersburg basks beneath 361 days a year of sunshine and an average high temperature of 81 degrees. Surrounded by water on three sides, its shoreline meanders along 234 miles of lagoons, bays, beaches and bayous.
Sun splashed attractions, like St. Petersburg's world famous Pier and Sunken Gardens, give visitors and residents alike plenty to do. An events mecca, each year more than 1,000 festivals, entertainment acts, sports and other events draw more than 10 million visitors downtown. While there, guests discover plenty of shops and restaurants before retiring to one of the city's grand hotels, inns, or quaint bed & Breakfast establishments.
Emerging as on of Florida's riches cultural cities, the Sunshine City is home to seven outstanding museums, including the Dali Museum with the largest collection of Salvador Dali artworks in the world, and more than two dozen galleries. From Shakespeare to show tunes, the arts take center stage in St. Petersburg.
The birthplace of Florida spring training and home to Major League Baseball's Devil Rays, St. Petersburg is a sports-crazy community. The Sunshine City hosts world cum triathlon and cycling events. Olympic sailing events, road and offshore grand prix races, world tennis events, PGA golf and more.
St. Petersburg enjoys 125 city parks that span 2, 500 acres - from neighborhood playgrounds to nature preserves and white sandy beaches. Recognized by state and national agencies for its outstanding parks and recreation programs, every day is a great day in the Sunshine City.
Between its shores, quiet neighborhoods have undergone a renaissance, reclaiming the historic grace of Mediterranean revival homes and wooden bungalows lined along brick streets and hexagon block sidewalks. Downtown, new high-rise condominiums and street side townhouses create another popular residential neighborhood.
St. Petersburg's rich diversity of people is matched by equally diverse architectures and character.
Market Facts
- St. Petersburg is the forth largest city in Florida, and is at the heart of the Tampa Bay market, the largest market in Florida and the 13th largest in the U.S. with 3.3 million residents.
- St. Petersburg's population is 248,232, with media age of 39.3 (2000 census).
- The Sunshine City anchors the Florida High Tech Corridor and is among the nation's top six high tech employment centers, and was rated by CEOs as among the top five business markets.
- St. Petersburg / Tampa Bay was cited as the fourth Best U.S. Metro Area in which to live, and the No. 1 Metro for job growth.
- The St. Petersburg Area was recently branded the "Mega-Market of the Year" by Southern Business & Development magazine, which also ranked Florida the "State of the Year". The region has also been ranked as the top place in the South for jobs, expansions and relocations. It leads the state in the number of businesses, manufacturing jobs, buying power, retail sales, food sales and bank deposits.
- Per capita income is $30,633 and the average house cost is $90,000 to $110,000. Cost of living is five percent below the national average.
- Ten marine institutes based in St. Petersburg comprise the largest oceanographic research center in the southeastern United States.