Florida’s state capital is St. Petersburg. It is home to over 270,000 people, which accounts for 1.22% state population.
St. Petersburg is second in the Tampa Bay Area after Tampa. “Always in Season” is the city’s motto. Due to the average 361 days of sunshine per year, the city is known as “Sunshine City“.
Our research shows that St. Petersburg’s population will be 282,020 as of the 1st July 2022. Because the US Census Bureau normally publishes estimates for the same period every year, we use the first day of July.
This calculation uses the average annual growth rate of 1.25% for the last 10 years. The estimation will be more accurate if we use the most recent years’ data (see the table below).
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Population Growth of St. Petersburg
The growth rate of St. Petersburg’s population over the last 10 years is steady and strong. It ranges from 0.53% – 1.72%. This adds approximately 1,295 to 4,490 new people to the total population each year.
The population growth was aided by the migration of many workers to St. Petersburg in order to access employment opportunities. St. Petersburg’s growth rate is higher than the average for Florida cities. It is one of the fastest-growing major cities in the United States.
| Year | Population | Growth rate |
| 2011 | 246,016 | n/a |
| 2012 | 247,311 | 0.53% |
| 2013 | 249,408 | 0.85% |
| 2014 | 253,524 | 1.65% |
| 2015 | 256,676 | 1.24% |
| 2016 | 260,999 | 1.68% |
| 2017 | 265,489 | 1.72% |
| 2018 | 269,083 | 1.35% |
| 2019 | 272,552 | 1.29% |
| 2020 | 275,004 | 0.90% |
| 2021 | 278,540 | 1.29% |
Demographics of St. Petersburg
U.S. Census Bureau reports that 48.8 percent of St. Petersburg’s population are male and 51.2% are female. The average age of residents is 39.24. This is higher than in other major cities in Florida. The city’s population is evenly distributed in terms of their age.
There are 21.5% residents under the age 18, 7.7% between 18-24, 30.2% between 25-44, 23.1% between 45-64, 17.4% for those 65 and older.
The top race groups for people living in St. Petersburg are: White(68.7%),Black(23.9%),Asian(3.2%),Native(0.3%),Two or more races(2.5%).
The top languages spoken in St. Petersburg include Spanish (4.43%), German (0.78%), French (0.72%), Vietnamese (0.67%), Serbo-Croatian (0.52%), and Laotian (0.51%).
According to 2010 research, 17.8% of the population lived below the poverty line in terms of resident wealth. This includes 32.2% for those aged under 18 and 14.1% for those 65 years or older.
Population Density of St. Petersburg
The population density of St. Petersburg is 1,631 per square kilometer. This makes it one of the most populous cities in Florida.
Facts about St. Petersburg
- CNN ranked St. Pete 7th in the Best Places to Retire, but only 15% of the population are over 65.
- St. Petersburg is the city that had the first scheduled airline flight depart on January 1, 1914. It flew Abe Pheil (the mayor) over to Tampa.
- St. Petersburg has the sixth highest level of violent crime in Florida and the lowest murder and manslaughter offenses among the top six violent crime cities in Florida.
- St. Petersburg was the first to be green. Its water reclamation system, which was built in the United States as the first and remains the largest in the world, was the most innovative. It can process more than 20,000,000 gallons of water each day.
- The Sunshine City is well-known for its 361 sunny days per annum. The Guinness World Record is held by The Burg for this category, with 768 consecutive sunny days.
- A 2010 census revealed that the city had 244,769 inhabitants, making St. Petersburg the largest municipality in Pinellas County.
- Since 1993, St. Petersburg has been administered by a strong mayor.
- St. Petersburg is the city that had the first scheduled airline flight depart on January 1, 1914. It flew Abe Pheil (the mayor) over to Tampa.
References
The following links provide data for this topic:
- U.S. Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov
- Florida Government: http://www.myflorida.com/
- Visit Florida: http://www.visitflorida.com/