TAMPA — Innovation is on the rise. Wages are up. The region is becoming more educated.
Then there’s this unexpected strength: Tampa Bay ranks third among its 19 peer regions
in AI adoption — surpassing major tech hubs — with nearly 13% of businesses utilizing
AI.
Despite these positive indicators, transportation costs and housing expenses leave
residents feeling strained.
For example, roughly 3 out of 5 renters spend 30% or more of their income on housing.
Additionally, half of households spend more than $1,500 each month on housing.
These were the major trends revealed at the ninth ‘State of the Region’ community
luncheon, where nearly 500 community and business leaders, policymakers, and government
officials gathered to hear where the region stands on its most pressing challenges.
Tuesday’s event was heavy on data and trends, but also a homecoming for University
of South Florida president Moez Limayem, whose welcome remarks kicked off his first day as the university’s ninth president.
The crowd in the Marshall Student Center ballroom greeted him with applause and a
standing ovation.
“To be the ninth president of this incredible university at my very first official
event, to welcome you to the ninth State of the Region, that is incredible,” said
Limayem, who played a pivotal role in creating the event during his 10-year tenure
as dean at the Muma College of Business.
Since 2017, the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Muma College of Business have partnered
to publish two complementary benchmarking reports — the 2026 Tampa Bay E-Insights Report and the — which show how the Tampa area’s eight-county region compares with 19 peer and aspirational
metropolitan communities across the U.S.
The reports show the regional successes while also identifying the challenges in key economic and socio-economic metrics. Some of the main findings from this year’s reports include:
- Innovation continues to play a critical role in both education and the broader community. University research and development rose by $58 million to $467 million, and the region received an increase in small business awards.
- The issue of affordability remains a consistent theme. While Tampa Bay’s wages and net worth increased, those gains were offset by higher living costs.
- Average wages are up by more than 5% to about $67K.
New this year is a that allows statistical analysis of Tampa Bay against more than 600 counties across
the U.S. on 24 metrics, hosted by USF. This is a complement to the State of the Region
website which focuses on the core comparison communities.
“This year we celebrate nine years of collaborative research, and we hope these insights
challenge our community leaders to think big, be innovative, and act on the trends
shaping our region’s future,” said David W. Blackwell, Lynn Pippenger Dean at the Muma College of Business.
The 2026 Tampa Bay E-Insights Report is an 80-page report that focuses on three main
areas: economic outcomes, education and opportunity, and quality of life. The Tampa
Bay Partnership, in collaboration with Community Foundation Tampa Bay and United Way
Suncoast, created the 2026 Regional Competitiveness Report.
Researchers took turns highlighting specific data points and dove into trend lines.
This year’s research uncovered an unexpected strength: AI adoption.
“This is a massive ‘early-mover’ advantage, and this shows that our private sector
is agile. If we leverage this advantage, we can be on the path for attracting high-wage
jobs and workers,” said Manish Agrawal, professor in the USF School of Information Systems.
Shivendu Shivendu, associate professor in the School of Information Systems, discussed the factors
that could improve life in Tampa Bay and increase regional competitiveness.
“Simply adding more jobs is not sufficient,” he said. “To move the needle, we must
focus on high-quality jobs and high-wage STEM and finance jobs.”
Overall, the Regional Competitiveness Report shows that Tampa Bay has had year-over-year
improvements in 39 of the 61 indicators, including 83% of talent indicators, 80% of
civic quality metrics, and 67% of Florida talent indicators.
Sarah Burgoyne, senior director of research and public policy for the Tampa Bay Partnership,
said the region’s job growth slowed slightly, with other Florida metros creating jobs
slightly faster than Tampa Bay.
“However, job growth alone doesn’t guarantee talent attraction,” she said. “People
are weighing the full picture — housing, transportation, education, affordability,
and overall quality of life.”
Burgoyne said buses, light rail, and other modalities that help the masses move are
not as exciting, but they are a necessary driver for job growth.
And when she mentioned that average commute times decreased by 18 seconds, the crowd
roared with laughter.
Moderators held two fireside chats — one on attracting talent and the other on healthcare
affordability.
Josh Wright, executive vice president of Lightcast, the global leader in labor market
data, talked about workforce development trends, AI, and where growth opportunities
lie in the Tampa Bay region.
“The skill of the future and of today is the skill of human and AI collaboration,”
he said. “Skills are changing inside job descriptions faster than before. There is
a huge need for foundational human skills.”
Brian Pieninck, president and Chief Executive Officer at GuideWell, the parent company
of Florida Blue, discussed the challenges and consequences of rising healthcare costs
and the future of healthcare affordability.
Bemetra Simmons, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership, challenged attendees
to choose one indicator from the data and act upon it.
“Today, we heard what it looks like when leaders move from measuring and monitoring
to acting on the trend,” she said.
“We heard from leaders who have leveraged this information to create new partnerships. We saw promising improvements in our talent indicators. To each of you, thanks for your leadership, your curiosity, and for investing your time in this important conversation.”