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St. Petersburg, Florida
City of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg skyline
St. Petersburg skyline
Flag of St. Petersburg, Florida
Flag
Official seal of St. Petersburg, Florida
Seal
Nickname(s): 
"St. Pete"; "Florida's Sunshine City"
Motto(s): 
"Always in Season"
Location in Pinellas County and the state of Florida
Location in Pinellas County and the state of Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida is located in the United States
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Location in the United States
Country United States
State Florida
County Pinellas
Founded 1888
Incorporated February 29, 1892
Re-Incorporated as City June 6, 1903
Named for Saint Petersburg, Russia
Government
 • Type Strong Mayor-Commission
Area
 • City 135.49 sq mi (350.93 km2)
 • Land 61.87 sq mi (160.24 km2)
 • Water 73.63 sq mi (190.69 km2)
Elevation
44 ft (13.4 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 258,308
 • Rank 79th
 • Density 4,175.08/sq mi (1,612.01/km2)
 • Urban
2,441,770 (17th)
 • Metro
2,870,569 (18th)
Demonym(s) St. Petersburger, St. Peteian, Burgian, Saint Petersburgite
Time zone UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
33701, 33702, 33703, 33704, 33705, 33710, 33712-33713, 33715
Area code(s) 727
FIPS code 12-63000
GNIS feature ID 290375

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the largest in the state that is not a county seat (the city of Clearwater is the seat of Pinellas County). Along with Clearwater, these cities are part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, the second-largest in Florida with a population of around 2.8 million. St. Petersburg is on the Pinellas peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and is connected to mainland Florida to the north.

Locals often refer to the city as St. Pete. Neighboring St. Pete Beach formally shortened its name in 1994 after a vote by its residents. St. Petersburg is governed by a mayor and city council.

With an average of some 361 days of sunshine each year, and a Guinness World Record for logging the most consecutive days of sunshine (768 days between 1967 and 1969), it is nicknamed "The Sunshine City." Located on the Gulf of Mexico, the average water temperature is typically around 76 °F (24 °C). Due to its good weather and low cost of living, the city has long been a popular retirement destination, although in recent years the population has moved in a much more youthful direction.

Economy

Much economic activity is concentrated in the Gateway area, which overlaps St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park. The median household income is $55,134. Health care, retail and professional services are the largest industries. The most common positions in St. Petersburg are Office and Administrative Support, Sales, and Management.

Largest employers

According to the City of St. Petersburg, Florida's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest private-sector (non-government, non-school) employers in the city are (with trends since 2010):

# Employer Employees Industry
1 Steady Raymond James 4,700 Increase Investment
2 Increase Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital 3,700 Increase Healthcare
3 Steady Home Shopping Network 2,200 Decrease Retail
4 Increase St. Anthony's Hospital 2,100 Increase Healthcare
5 Increase Publix Super Markets 2,000 Increase Retail
6 Increase Jabil Circuit 2,000 Increase Electronics manufacturing services
7 Decrease Fidelity National Information Services 1,800 Steady Financial sector
8 Decrease Bayfront Medical 1,500 Decrease Healthcare
9 Increase The Continental Group 1,200 Increase Realtor
10 Decrease Spectrum 1,100 Decrease Communications

Budget

The city's budget runs on a fiscal calendar beginning October 1 and ending the following September. In order to approve the budget, the city's mayor submits a proposal to the city council who will make decisions proceeding two public hearings which are in compliance with "Truth in Mileage." A finalized budget that complies with statues is then posted within 30 days as required by the state of Florida.

In 2017, the city of St. Petersburg has an operating budget of about $514.1 million. The budget contributed to various areas of the city including water resources, Police and Fire Departments, and Emergency Medical Services.

The Commercial Revitalization Program of 2020 provided grants to commercial developments providing future work to the city. Grants are provided to commercial buildings and developments outside of downtown and are provided as matching grants.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 273
1900 1,575 476.9%
1910 4,127 162.0%
1920 14,237 245.0%
1930 40,425 183.9%
1940 60,812 50.4%
1950 96,738 59.1%
1960 181,298 87.4%
1970 216,159 19.2%
1980 238,647 10.4%
1990 238,629 0.0%
2000 248,232 4.0%
2010 244,769 −1.4%
2020 258,308 5.5%
U.S. Decennial Census
St. Petersburg demographics
2010 Census St. Petersburg Pinellas County Florida
Total population 244,769 916,542 18,801,310
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010 −1.4% −0.5% +17.6%
Population density 3,964.4/sq mi 3,347.5/sq mi 350.6/sq mi
White or Caucasian (including White Hispanic) 68.7% 82.1% 75.0%
(Non-Hispanic White or Caucasian) 64.3% 76.9% 57.9%
Black or African-American 23.9% 10.3% 16.0%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 6.6% 8.0% 22.5%
Asian 3.2% 3.0% 2.4%
Native American or Native Alaskan 0.3% 0.3% 0.4%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Two or more races (multiracial) 2.5% 2.2% 2.5%
Some other race 1.3% 2.0% 3.6%

2010 Census

According to the 2010 census, the city contained 244,769 people, making St. Petersburg the largest city in Pinellas County, and 129,401 households. The population density was 3,964.4 per square mile (1530.7/km2).

The racial makeup of St. Petersburg was 168,036 (68.7%) White, 58,577 (23.9%) African American, 7,779 (3.2%) Asian (0.8% Vietnamese, 0.5% Filipino, 0.5% Indian, 0.3% Chinese, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Japanese, and 1.0% Other Asian), 723 (0.3%) Native American, 135 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 3,474 (1.4%) from other races, and 6,045 (2.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race numbered 16,214 (6.6%), with 5,272 (2.2%) Puerto Rican, 2,855 (1.2%) Mexican, 2,835 (1.2%) Cuban, and other Hispanic or Latino people making up 5,252 (2.1%) of the population.

With the city having 129,401 households, 108,815 (84.1%) were occupied while 20,586 (15.9%) were not occupied. With 108,815 of the population in households, 3,888 (1.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group-quarters and 2,719 (1.1%) were institutionalized. There were 108,815 households, out of which 23,304 (21.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 37,847 (34.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 16,425 (15.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 4,849 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 9,453 (3.9%) unmarried partnerships. 39,397 households (36.2%) were made up of individuals, and 28,267 (26.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19. Out of 108,815 occupied households, families made up 59,121 (54.3%) while non-families made up 49,694 (45.7%); the average family size was 2.88. The median age of the city was 41.6 years.

Languages

As of 2000, those who spoke only English at home accounted were 88.53% of residents, Spanish was spoken by 4.43%, German by 0.78%, French by 0.72% of speakers, Vietnamese by 0.67%, Serbo-Croatian by 0.52%, and Laotian by 0.51% of the population.

Religion

35.9 percent of St. Petersburg residents consider themselves religious. Catholics make up the largest group at 14 percent followed by Methodists and Baptists, each of which compose of about four percent of the religious community. The Diocese of St. Petersburg governs 74 Catholic parishes as well as 46 schools and 480,000 Catholics in the Tampa Bay area. Bishop Gregory Parkes currently leads the Diocese of St. Petersburg which covers five counties in the state of Florida.

Sports

Professional sports clubs in the Tampa Bay area
Club Sport League Venue
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football National Football League Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
Tampa Bay Lightning Ice hockey National Hockey League Amalie Arena, Tampa
Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Major League Baseball Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
Tampa Bay Rowdies Soccer United Soccer League Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg
Bay Area Pelicans Rugby USA Rugby Union Sawgrass Park, St. Petersburg
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Auto racing IndyCar Downtown Waterfront

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area is represented by teams in four major professional sports (soccer, football, baseball, and hockey). Two teams, the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball and Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League, play in St. Petersburg proper, while the other two teams play across the bay in Tampa. As their names suggest, all of the teams represent the entire Tampa Bay area and seek to draw fans from both sides of Tampa Bay.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area hosted the Super Bowl LV, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium on February 7, 2021.

The Rays began play in 1998, finishing last in the American League's East Division in nine of the first ten seasons they played, including their last year known as the "Devil Rays": 2007. In 2008, their 11th season, they held off the Boston Red Sox and won the AL East Division Championship for the first time. In the playoffs, they again faced the Red Sox in the ALCS. They defeated Boston and won the American League Pennant. However, they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series. The Rays also made an appearance in the 2020 World Series where they faced the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, they eventually lost the series to the Dodgers in six games.

Tropicana Field Playing Field Opening Day 2010
Tropicana Field shown from the upper deck during the first game of the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays season

From their inception until 2008, the Rays played their regular season games at Tropicana Field and their spring training games at historic Al Lang Stadium, formerly Progress Energy Park, giving them the unique distinction of being the only team in Major League Baseball that played its spring training games in their home city in more than 70 years. Beginning in 2009, the Rays have held spring training at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, ending a 94-year streak of springtime baseball in the city. Tropicana Field, the home venue of the Rays, played host to the 1999 Final Four. Despite not having a team in the city since 2000 (with the St. Petersburg Devil Rays), St. Petersburg is home to Minor League Baseball's main headquarters.

St. Petersburg is home to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the inaugural race was held in April 2005. The circuit itself is made of downtown streets passing Al Lang Stadium, the marina, and a runway in Albert Whitted Airport, and streets are temporarily blocked off for the annual Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series race. The race was postponed in 2020 due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and was rescheduled as the final race of the season, rather than the first race. In 2012, the road intersecting Turn 10 was renamed Dan Wheldon Way in memory of Dan Wheldon, who won the 2005 race thanks to a move made on that turn. Wheldon was killed in an accident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the 2011 season finale.

Rowdies Soccer Config 2015
The newly renovated Al Lang Stadium for the Tampa Bay Rowdies

The Tampa Bay Rowdies of the United Soccer League began play in Tampa in 2010 and moved to Al Lang Stadium in 2011. The long-time baseball venue is named after Al Lang, a former mayor of St. Petersburg who was instrumental in bringing spring training to the city in 1914. The Rowdies initially shared Al Lang Stadium with various amateur baseball events, but eventually took over operation of the facility and has converted it into a soccer-only facility The Rowdies' ownership has expressed interest in moving up to join Major League Soccer (MLS) and a 2016 referendum gave the club permission to build a larger privately funded stadium at the site of Al Lang Stadium if the move takes place.

The Bay Area Pelicans Rugby Football Club has made their home in St. Petersburg since 1977.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Public primary and secondary schools in St. Petersburg are administered by Pinellas County Schools. Public high schools within the city limits include:

  • Gibbs High School
  • Lakewood High School
  • Northeast High School
  • St. Petersburg High School
  • St. Petersburg Collegiate High School

Private high schools include:

  • Canterbury School of Florida
  • St. Petersburg Catholic High School
  • Shorecrest Preparatory School
  • Admiral Farragut Academy

High schools located in unincorporated (outside city limits) St. Petersburg:

  • Dixie M. Hollins High School
  • Keswick Christian School
  • Northside Christian School

The non-profit Science Center of Pinellas County educates more than 22,000 school children annually through field trip classes and offers winter, spring and summer workshops for 2,000 more.

Saint Petersburg College Downtown Center - Northwest Corner
The St. Petersburg College Downtown Center

Higher education

St. Petersburg is home to several institutions of higher education. The University of South Florida St. Petersburg is an autonomous campus in the University of South Florida system. The University of South Florida St. Petersburg serves 6,500 students. Eckerd College, founded in 1958, is a private four-year liberal arts college. St. Petersburg College is a state college in the Florida College System. Also in St. Petersburg is the Poynter Institute, a journalism institute which owns the Tampa Bay Times in a unique arrangement. Stetson Law School is located in Gulfport, which is adjacent to St. Pete between the south beaches. The city of St. Petersburg contributed to the school in 2020 by donating to increase diversity in the ocean sciences.

The largest colleges by degrees awarded are USF St. Petersburg, Eckerd College and Pinellas Technical College. Statistically, the most popular majors amongst these three institutions are Nursing, Psychology and Biological Sciences. In 2015, the largest number of degrees awarded went to Biological Sciences students while the second was awarded to Psychology students.

Other colleges and universities in the wider Tampa Bay Area include the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa located in Tampa and Hillsborough Community College, with campuses across Hillsborough County.

St. Petersburg College, founded in 1927, a state college within the Florida College System. It has an average of 65,000 students spread across 11 campuses and centers in the Bay area, four of which are in St. Petersburg.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Sunshine Skyway from Tampa Bay
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge viewed from the Tampa Bay

Roads

In Pinellas County's beginnings, many of the roads followed unusual patterns to link various settlements. Clearwater-Largo Road and Tampa Road are two examples that still exist today. The architects who constructed Pinellas County's roads developed them in a grid pattern which can be seen in various cities including St. Petersburg.

The city is connected to Tampa by the east by causeways and bridges across Tampa Bay, and to Bradenton in the south by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (Interstate 275), which traverses the mouth of the bay. Travel Channel named the Skyway Bridge one of the top 10 Best Bridges in the World. It is also served by Interstates 175 and 375, which branch off I-275 into the southern and northern areas of downtown respectively. The Gandy Bridge, conceived by George Gandy and opened in 1924, was the first causeway to be built across Tampa Bay, connecting St. Petersburg and Tampa cities without a circuitous 43-mile (69 km) trip around the bay through Oldsmar.

Airports

Nearby Tampa International Airport provides air transportation for most passengers. Smaller airlines, with destinations to smaller cities and towns, operate at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, with most tenants providing only seasonal services. Albert Whitted Airport provides general aviation services near the heart of downtown St. Petersburg.

Mass transit

City of St. Petersburg Trolley
Trolley serving Downtown

Mass transit in St. Petersburg is provided by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA). A sightseeing trolley, called The Looper, also travels to key downtown destinations daily such as USFSP, Sundial, Vinoy Hotel, and the multiple museums around the city. The Looper costs only 50 cents to ride and provides free drop off points throughout the transit. The City of St. Petersburg offers Coast Bike Share which is a service providing shared bicycles for short-term use between one and three miles. Along the bike paths in St. Pete are terra-cotta planters to create extra space between traffic and bikers to ensure user safety.

It was announced in August 2020 that St. Petersburg would welcome electric scooters to the list of transportation options. 225 scooters will first be introduced and it is expected to increase to 1,500 time goes on. The city created corrals in Downtown St. Pete where users must leave scooters once they are not in use.

St. Petersburg has a program known as "Ride Share" which are affordable options to get around the city. Ride share is a non-profit carpooling service available in the city alongside other services like Lyft and Uber.

Railroads

CSX Transportation operates a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad branch line which sees daily rail traffic from north Tampa though Safety Harbor, Clearwater, and Largo. As of March 2008, the portion that ran into downtown St. Petersburg and the adjacent western industrial areas was abandoned. There is a small rail yard to the northwest of downtown St. Petersburg at the new end of the rail line with several spur lines serving industries in the area.

The former Seaboard Air Line branch from the western coastal portion of the county was abandoned in the 1980s and converted to a popular recreational trail called the Pinellas Trail.

Notable former stations include the St. Petersburg ACL station, which became an Amtrak station from 1971 to 1983, St. Petersburg Seaboard Air Line Passenger Station, and the St. Petersburg Seaboard Coast Line station.

Port and marinas

Marina aerial southbasin
Boats located at South Basin

One of the main sea transportation areas in St. Peterburg is the Port of St. Petersburg, which is located in downtown St. Petersburg. Boat marinas in downtown St. Petersburg are also available such as the Municipal Marina which located in the Southern and Central Yacht Basins, and Harborage Marina located in the Bayboro Harbor.

Utilities

The city of St. Petersburg's major electricity system is provided by Duke Energy, the city's major gas system is provided by TECO Energy in the industrial and commercial parts of the city, and the city's water services are provided by the city of St. Petersburg.

Images for kids

See also

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