At A Glance CITY OF ST PETERSBURG FL St Petersburg

							               At A Glance - CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG, FL
                                 St. Petersburg - "Florida's Sunshine City"


City Population
248,232 (4th largest city in Florida)

City Median Age
39.3 years (2000 census)

Pinellas County Population
921,482

Metro Area Population
2,395,997
Demographics
Median household income $34,597
Average Home Purchase Price
$239,630 (new homes & condos)
$169,451 (existing homes & condos)

Median Home Purchase Price
$175,100 (new homes & condos)
$125,000 (existing homes & condos)

Source: Florida New Business Report (FNBR) Purchase Price Study, 2003.
City Land Mass
60.9 square miles

Highest Elevation
61 feet above sea level

Waterfront
234 miles of shoreline along Tampa Bay, Boca Ciega Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and intracoastal waterways.
Largest municipal marina in the southeast with 610 boat slips. Nine boat ramp locations, open year round. Ft.
De Soto Park, one of the nation’s top ranked beaches.

Sunshine
Average temperature - 73.7 degrees. Average days of sunshine per year - 361. The “Sunshine City” holds a
Guinness World Record for logging the most consecutive days of sunshine - a stretch lasting 768 days that
began in 1967.

Sister City
Takamatsu, Japan

Twin City
St. Petersburg, Russia

Founded
June 8, 1888

Incorporated
February 29, 1892

Re-Incorporated
June 6, 1903

Form Of Government
St. Petersburg operates under the strong mayor form of government - a system that combines the strong
political leadership of a mayor with an elected city council. The mayor is responsible for running the daily af-
fairs of the city, The City Council has a chair and a vice chair and must approve city policies, city budget and
the mayor’s choices for city administrator and city attorney.
Number of Employees
3,628 full and part-time employees, including 539 sworn police officers and 303 uniformed fire personnel.

Parks
125 city parks on 2,500 acres, including a seven mile preserved downtown waterfront. Unique parks include the
245-acre Boyd Hill Nature Park preserve, the botanical attraction Sunken Gardens, and the historic Weedon Island
Preserve. The Pinellas Trail, a 47-mile hiking/biking trail, connects St. Petersburg with central and north Pinellas
County-the longest urban linear trail in the Eastern U.S.

Special City Facilities
City venues include The Pier, Tropicana Field, Bayfront Center Arena and Mahaffey Theater, Coliseum, Albert
Whitted Municipal Airport, Port of St. Petersburg, 18 recreation centers, and six public libraries.

Schools
The Pinellas County School System is the 7th largest district in Florida and 22nd largest in the nation. More than
148,000 students are enrolled at 140 public schools, 72 private schools and 5 vocational/technical schools. Uni-
versities include St Petersburg College, Eckerd College, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Pinellas Techni-
cal Education Center, and Stetson University College of Law.

Tallest Building
Bank of America tower, 28 floors, 330,000 square feet
Attractions
The Pier, Tropicana Field, Sunken Gardens, Tampa Bay Walk of Fame, Baseball Boulevard, and St. Petersburg
Times Walk Through History.

Famous Firsts
St. Petersburg is the birthplace of scheduled aviation with the flight of the Benoist Airboat and the birthplace of
Major League Baseball Spring Training, both in 1914.

Records
St. Petersburg’s Water Reclamation System is not only the first to be built in the U.S., it remains one of the larg-
est in the world. The city’s innovative system provides more than 20 million gallons a day (annual average) to
10,483 customers for lawn irrigation. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, at 4.1 miles across, is the largest cable sus-
pension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, rising 19 stories above Tampa Bay (at midpoint).

Professional Sports
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (MLB), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL), Tampa Bay Storm (AFL), Tampa Bay Lightning
(NHL), and Derby Lane (greyhound racing).

Sports & Outdoor Recreation
Three award-winning public golf courses, nine public pools including an Olympic-size training facility located on
Tampa Bay, 80 lighted tennis courts, three dog parks, two skateboard parks, a BMX bicycle track, and a Maximo
Park flying disc golf playing facility.
Major annual events: The St. Anthony’s Triathlon swim/bike/run contest draws ITU (International Triathlon Union)
professional triathletes. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and Regata Del Sol al Sol, a 456-mile yacht race from
St. Petersburg to Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Arts & Culture
World-famous Salvador Dali Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg Museum of History, Great Explora-
tions, Florida International Museum, and Florida Holocaust Museum. The Florida Craftsmen Gallery, American
Stage, and Palladium Community Theater.

Event highlights: Festival of States celebration, Mainsail Arts Festival, Shakespeare in the Park, Arts Alive! Mu-
seum Week, Florida Orchestra in the Park, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national parade and band festival.

More Information
St. Petersburg Mayor’s Action Center, 727-893-7111,
St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, 727-821-4069
St. Petersburg/ Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 727-464-7200

For more information, contact:

St. Petersburg City Hall
175 5th Street North
Phone 727- 893-7111
Fax 727-892-5102
TDD 727-893-9524