The Tampa metropolitan economy saw the third-highest rate of growth among the 20 largest US metros in 2016 according to an analysis of recently released economic data conducted by SpareFoot.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area is the 18th largest in the United States. In 2015 the Tampa MSA generated a gross GDP dollar value of $121 billion, making it the 25th largest metro economy.
In 2016, the metro’s total economic output rose to $126 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent. Among the other 20 largest metro areas, only San Francisco, with a growth rate of 5.4 percent, and Seattle, with a growth rate of 4.3 percent, grew faster than Tampa.
The analysis was based on data released last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Among the Top 100 US metros, Tampa ranked 10th for growth. Last year was the second year in a row of strong economic growth for the Tampa area, which grew by 2.8 percent in 2015. The Tampa economy saw a small dip in 2014.
What’s driving Tampa’s growth? According to the BEA data, the finance, insurance and real estate sector alone accounted for nearly a full percentage point of GDP growth, with the professional and business services and construction sectors also making large contributions. The only sector to see a year-over-year decline was arts, entertainment, and recreation.
Here are the complete 2016 GDP rankings for the top 100 US Metro Areas:
