Thinking about moving to St. Petersburg? Here's what I'd tell you.

What it costs

St. Pete prices run close to Tampa's, and they move a lot by neighborhood. Condos downtown, bungalows in Kenwood, and a waterfront house on Snell Isle are three very different conversations. Our live St. Pete market page breaks the median down by ZIP code. St. Pete is in Pinellas County, so property taxes follow Pinellas rates, and the cost of living breakdown walks through the real numbers. Florida has no state income tax, which helps offset the insurance side.

Flood is the St. Pete question

I think this is the part to slow down on. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene pushed more than six feet of storm surge into the city, and neighborhoods on the northeast shore like Shore Acres, Snell Isle, and Venetian Isles flooded. At the same time, a lot of St. Pete sits on higher ground and never took water. So I don't think "St. Pete floods" is the right way to put it. It's house by house. We look at the flood zone, the elevation, whether the home took water in 2024, and a real insurance quote before you get attached.

Getting to Tampa

If your job is in Tampa, you'll be crossing the bay. Most people take I-275 over the Howard Frankland, and the Gandy Bridge is the other main route from the south end of the peninsula. Outside rush hour it's an easy drive with a nice view. At rush hour it depends on the day. I usually tell people to try the drive at their actual hours once before deciding. If you work from home or in Pinellas, this mostly stops mattering.

The beaches are close

This is the reason a lot of people pick St. Pete over Tampa. St. Pete Beach, Pass-a-Grille, and Fort De Soto are all a short drive west or south across the causeways. Living on the beaches themselves is its own market, with its own insurance and flood math, but living in St. Pete and driving over on a Saturday is the setup most people I work with end up loving.