Powerhouse: Looming concerns about a potential national economic downturn are doing little to faze local players Tampa Bay is a growing economic powerhouse. Despite widespread concerns over a looming economic downturn, an ongoing trade war with China, and the slowing pace of nationwide economic growth, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tampa Bay has enjoyed some of the best job expansion and economic development in Florida and the entire country. It boasts a low and still decreasing unemployment rate and growing foreign direct investment. These economic successes have positioned the region as an increasingly attractive destination for educated and high-earning young professionals to fill the area’s many available high-paying jobs, with Tampa Bay standing at No. 1 for competitivelycompensated STEM positions. As this emerging workforce migrates to the region, their retiree parents follow them to be near their grandchildren, further turning the wheel of growth. Boosting the area’s attractiveness for companies, investors and immigrants alike is the region’s affordability. The annual Cost of Living Index (COLI) report in January 2020 gave the area an average annual index of 90.9 for 2019, slightly above its 2018 performance, suggesting the region is becoming 10 | Invest: Tampa Bay 2020 | ECONOMY
more expensive. Still, Tampa Bay ranked No. 1 for affordability among similar markets, like Charlotte and Nashville. It came in just below Daytona Beach for all Florida state metros. History and development Tampa Bay is a large region on Florida’s western coast that encapsulates the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. It covers approximately 400 square miles, indenting the western coast of Florida. The Tampa Bay Region, which derives its name from the bay, was first discovered in 1513 by the Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon. However, the Spanish were primarily focused on developing Florida’s eastern coast, and thus the state’s western reaches were left largely undisturbed until 1824, when Americans began to settle the region in earnest. Only two months after these first settlers arrived, the U.S. Army established Fort Brooke to protect the harbor at Tampa Bay in acknowledgment of its strategic importance. The region finally became part of the United States in 1845, and grew rapidly thanks to the increased access afforded by Henry B. Plant’s railroad extension to the Hillsborough River, as well as the ( )
