WELCOME TO THE 2023 REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS SUMMARY REPORT

The Regional Competitiveness Report was created with the understanding that what gets measured is what gets done. For six years, it has served as a trusted resource by business, government, and nonprofit leaders throughout Tampa Bay. Over time, the findings have illuminated successes and regional challenges.

This annual report showcases the continued impacts of COVID-19 on our community and on the personal and professional lives of Tampa Bay residents.

At a high level, Tampa Bay is moving the needle. Data in this report shows year-over-year improvements in 36 of the 67 indicators. The region has improved in stack ranking against peer and aspirational communities in 26 indicators. Systems change is a long-term process, and much like a dance, we expect a rhythm of a few steps forward and one step back. In true form, there are also areas where our performance decreased, and rankings fell. However, holistically we are moving in the right direction.

The region continues to attract new residents of all ages. Tampa Bay ranks first in Net Migration, and the positive trends in Population Age 25-34 In-Migration Rate demonstrate that those in early labor force years are also drawn to the area; a great sign that we are attracting workforce talent.

This influx is exciting news for the business community, but progress must also be reflected in home-grown talent. Early childhood education and pre-kindergarten enrollment are critical, and educational attainment must improve across all degree types. A better educated, more prepared workforce will translate to improvements in average wages, median household incomes and overall li of the region.

Additionally, increased population growth also puts pressure on existing transit and transportation options. Tampa Bay continues to be challenged with low transit ridership, long commute times, and a high rate of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. And because transportation and housing alone make up more than 54% of Tampa Bay residents’ budgets, a ordability, once a draw for our area, is now a major concern.

The 2023 Regional Competitiveness Report helps paint an objective picture of successes and, importantly, opportunities for advancement. When used as a common base of knowledge, the report allows us to work collaboratively for positive community change. While research is a cornerstone of these e orts, true transformation will occur when we act upon what we have learned.

We encourage you to keep this document as a quick-guide and visit the website www.stateo heregion.com to explore detailed information aligned with each indicator. Your individual and collective e orts are necessary to move our community forward. We look forward to all we will accomplish together for Tampa Bay in 2023 and beyond. A er all, the best way to predict the future is to help create it.

Sincerely,

The 60+ indicators of the Regional Competitiveness Report were selected through the expertise of more than 100 business, government, and nonprofit leaders. Progress helps position Tampa Bay as a regional powerhouse and creates a more prosperous future for all residents of Tampa Bay. Each year, we measure our performance, and track the region’s progress against 19 peer and aspirational communities and the country as a whole.

The drivers of our regional economy – identified here as Economic Vitality, Innovation, Infrastructure, Talent, and Civic Quality – represent the critical needs of our residents and businesses. Together, they create a framework for prosperity and lead to critical Outcomes that indicate whether our economy is growing, and if that growth is being enjoyed by everyone.

Our comparison communities reflect both peer and aspirational relationships with Tampa Bay. Factors such as population and demography, the size of the economy, and the presence of regional assets –including ports and research universities – were considered, as well as the frequency of competition for economic development projects.

Comparison Communities

Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota. For the purposes of this report, data is either composed by combining individual county-level data, or data from the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs):

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas)

Homosassa Springs (Citrus)

Lakeland-Winter Haven (Polk)

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (Manatee and Sarasota)

When MSA-level data is used to create a regional value, the component values are weighted by an appropriate factor (population, number of households, etc.) It should be noted that o en the Tampa Bay regional value remains close to the value of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA due to its size (it is the 18th largest MSA in the nation).

THE 2023 REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS SUMMARY REPORT is provided as a resource for the entire community, to help each of us make a positive impact on the competitiveness and prosperity of Tampa Bay. Understanding how to read and analyze the information presented within the report is key to it becoming the most useful and relevant tool for everyday use.

Individual Indicator Name

2023 RANKING:

TAMPA BAY:

The absolute value for Tampa Bay is noted to provide additional context to the relative ranking. When displayed in green, the value improved. When displayed in red, the value worsened. When displayed in black, the value remained the same.

UNITED STATES:

Where available, information for the United States is included to illustrate how Tampa Bay compares to national performance. In the Florida Talent indicators, this section of the tile is the state average.

The bold ranking highlights Tampa Bay’s relative position among the cohort in the 2023 report, and the ranking below it indicates its position in the 2022 report. When the arrow appears in green, the ranking improved over the previous year. When displayed in red, the ranking worsened. When there is no arrow, the ranking remains the same.

TOP PERFORMER:

This is the top performer among the 20 markets, and its value.

THE COMPLETE DATA SET for each indicator, including the ranking and performance for all 20 markets, as well as the data source, can be found at www.stateo heregion.com.

Disclaimer: The Tampa Bay Partnership Foundation has, to the best of its ability, compiled the information contained within and used it to produce this publication. The data is believed to be the latest available at the time of production, accurate, and from reliable sources. The Tampa Bay Partnership Foundation welcomes constructive criticism and corrections of the errors that may appear in a project of this complexity. For more information on the methodology for this report, please contact Dr. Lucia Farriss, Senior Director of Research, Analytics, and Public Policy, at Lfarriss@tampabay.org.

Acknowledgements

THE REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT is made possible through the engaged support of business and community leaders throughout Tampa Bay, both past and present.

This project expands and advances previous regional e orts, such as the Economic Market report and the Regional Economic Scorecard, led by the Tampa Bay Partnership and the former University of South Florida Center for Economic Development and Research (CEDR).

The strategic vision and leadership of Chuck Sykes, President and CEO of Sykes Enterprises and the chair of the Regional Indicators Task Force, was instrumental in the creation of the inaugural Regional Competitiveness Report in 2017, along with that of the participating task force members, including:

Robbie Artz

Michael Baughen

Len Becker

David Call

Gino Casanova

Bob Clifford

David Cohen

Tom Corona

David Doney

Nathaniel Doliner

Lee Evans

Gina Gallo

Scott Garlick

Brett Lafferty

Marty Lanahan

2023 Stakeholder Review

Rhea Law

Mark Lilly

Chad Loar

Suzanne McCormick

Seth McKeel

David Pizzo

Dr. Ed Rafalski

Amy Rettig

Nick Setteducato

Marlene Spalten

Matt Spence

William Walsh

Chuck Warrington

Melanie Williams

The production of the 2023 Regional Competitiveness Report relied upon the feedback and guidance of the following stakeholders across the region, who shared their time and insight to help us make this a better, more useful resource for the community:

Aaron Neal

Jared Austin

Alison Barlow

Devon Barnett

Emily Benham

Glenn Brown

Eddie Burch

Rick Casey

Rodney Chatman

Sarah Combs

Jesse Coraggio

Bill Cronin

Sheff Crowder

Jacki Dezelski

Robin DiSalvo

J.P. DuBuque

Josh Dunn

Catherine Godwin

Stanley Gray

Bill Hoffman

Kim Jowell

Eric Larson

Carl R. Lavender, Jr.

JoLynn Lokey

Matthew Pleasant

Jessica Scites

Mark Sharpe

Kyle Simpson

Kelley Sims

Dave Sobush

Matt Spence

Micki Thompson

Chuck Tiernan

Harry Walsh