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What sets Tampa's economy apart

The industry that stands out most in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro, measured against the national mix, is insurance. Its 2,675 establishments are 1.4 times the share you would expect from the country as a whole. Next come real estate (5,895 establishments, 1.3 times) and professional, scientific and technical services (13,859 establishments, 1.3 times). Of the 61 metros on these pages with published figures for insurance, Tampa ranks 8th, behind Little Rock, AR and others.

Agency acquisitions and carrier transactions turn on book-of-business data, carrier contracts and regulatory filings.

Property sales, refinancings and fund raises put leases, rent rolls and title files in front of buyers and lenders. In real estate, Tampa places 9th of 61 metros here; Phoenix, AZ leads.

How Tampa compares

The Census Bureau estimated the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro's population at 3,424,560 in July 2024, up 249,275 or 7.9 percent on the April 2020 base of 3,175,285.

Measured against the 2023 estimate of 3,374,078, the same year as the business count, Tampa has 70.0 offices of lawyers per 100,000 residents, 8th of the 59 metro areas on these pages against a median of 52.6; the nearest rates are Denver, CO at 69.3 and Jackson, MS at 68.8.

The metro with the closest number of law offices is Phoenix, AZ, with 2,339; the metro closest in population, San Diego, CA at 3,298,799 residents, has 2,536 law offices and 1,730 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll establishments.

Counted by accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms instead, Tampa's nearest match is Detroit, MI, with 1,777.

• Residents, July 2024: 3,424,560
• Residents, April 2020 base: 3,175,285
• Change since 2020: +249,275 (7.9 percent), 9th of 59
• Law offices per 100,000 residents: 70.0, 8th of 59
• Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll per 100,000 residents: 52.1, 12th of 59
• Securities and investment per 100,000 residents: 37.5, 34th of 59
• Managing offices per 100,000 residents: 9.8, 57th of 59
• Real estate agents and brokers per 100,000 residents: 84.6, 11th of 59
• Employees in offices of lawyers: about 16,000
• Employees in accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll: about 15,000

The courts and regulators behind Tampa paperwork

When a Tampa dispute reaches federal court, it goes to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

CPAs practicing in Florida are licensed by the Florida Board of Accountancy.

At state level, securities offerings and investment advisers in Florida answer to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Securities, so a Tampa fund raising money or an adviser facing an exam has documents to produce on request.

If personal information in a Tampa deal, audit or case file is exposed, Florida's data breach notification law sets who has to be told and when.