bay area remains average

Every six months, the Tampa Bay Partnership compares the Tampa Bay area to five other southern metros – Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Jacksonville and Raleigh-Durham - for a Regional Economic Scorecard.

For fall 2009, we finished third in the measurement once again. Here’s the breakdown:

• For income & productivity, Tampa Bay ranks 2nd – up from 4th last spring.
• For education, Tampa Bay remains at number 3.
• For transportation, Tampa Bay ranks 3rd, an improvement from 4th in the spring.
• For employment and workforce, Tampa Bay ranks 4th.
• For innovation, Tampa Bay ranks 5th.
• For housing, Tampa Bay ranks dead last – a decline from 3rd place in the spring.

Here’s a closer look at where we are falling short (ranked either 5th or 6th):

• Number of jobs created
• Unemployment rate
• Average Wage
• Rental Affordability
• Venture Capital
• Number of Patents
• Science awards
• Transit Ridership (% of population)

You can compare the Tampa Bay Partnership’s entire Fall 2009 Regional Economic Scorecard to the report from Spring of ‘09 to find out more.