NAICS 72

Accommodation and Food Services in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Metro Market Score 70.4 (Difficult), ranked #265 of 298 metros. 7,873 establishments, 140,437 jobs.

Metro Market Score 70.4

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Difficult

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national accommodation and food services average.

💰High-Cost Market⚡Rising Wages

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater stands out for high accommodation and food services labor costs. Wage competitiveness hits 83.6 (above the 70th percentile of metros), and year-over-year wage pressure at 79.2 signals continued increases. Plan for higher payroll if entering this market.

Industry Concentration

56.7

LQ: 1.08

Rank #169 of 298 metros

Wage Competitiveness

83.6

$30,577 avg wage

Growth Trend

↓ 34.9

Employment growth index

Rank #195 of 298 metros

Wage Pressure

79.2

YoY wage change index

7,873 Accommodation and Food Services Firms in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

7,873

Establishments

+4.1% YoY

140,437

Total Employment

-0.5% YoY

$30,577

Average Annual Wage

+5.8% YoY

1.08

Location Quotient

Above national avg

Within Florida

#15 of 20

accommodation and food services metros in state

Florida state rank

#44 of 51

for accommodation and food services entry risk

vs State Median

+2.0

worse than median (68.5)

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater vs Florida Statewide

How this metro's accommodation and food services market compares to Florida overall. The state ranks #44/51 for entry risk.

Measure	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater	FL Statewide
Overall Score	70.4 Difficult	53.6 Elevated
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#265 of 298 metros	#44 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Other Industries in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

Other Services 48.7 Construction 52.0 Healthcare and Social Assistance 57.0 Retail Trade 57.6 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 60.3 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 61.1 Information 61.6 Finance and Insurance 66.8 Administrative and Support Services 79.2

Accommodation and Food Services in Other Florida Metros

Ocala 48.4 #104/298 Sebring 51.5 #127/298 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 57.6 #169/298 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 60.2 #187/298 Jacksonville 60.2 #188/298 Punta Gorda 60.6 #194/298 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 61.6 #203/298 Lakeland-Winter Haven 62.6 #212/298 Naples-Marco Island 63.3 #216/298 Tallahassee 66.3 #235/298

+ 9 more metros. View all in Florida →

Accommodation and Food Services Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater's 70.4 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Yuba City, CA 70.4 #264/298 Urban Honolulu, HI 70.3 #263/298 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC 70.2 #262/298 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI 70.2 #261/298 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 70.0 #260/298 Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ 69.8 #259/298 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT 69.8 #258/298 Vallejo, CA 71.3 #266/298 Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ 71.3 #267/298 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 69.5 #257/298

Accommodation and Food Services in States Bordering Florida

State-level entry risk for accommodation and food services in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

Georgia 43.6 #35/51 Alabama 44.1 #37/51

Browse Accommodation and Food Services in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for accommodation and food services across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater's accommodation and food services sector, the wage competitiveness component (83.6) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment