Clearwater, Florida population is 114,364 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #275 nationally and #20 in Florida. Cost of living runs 0.9% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $93,736/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
At a glance.
2025 population
114,364
-1,699 in the last year
Top 2% of 19,483 U.S. cities
Census Vintage 2025
Cost of living
RPP 100.9
+0.9% vs US
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro · BEA 2024
Family-of-4 budget
$93,736/yr
+17% vs US
Modeled 2025 · federal sources
Median HH income
$66,381
−15% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
Median home value
$361,300
+19% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
2-BR fair-market rent
$1,977/mo
HUD FY2026 · 40th pct
Avg July high
90°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
30%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Explore Clearwater, FL demographics, including age, race and ethnicity, households, origins, language, and education.
How many people live in Clearwater?
114,364 people live in Clearwater as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #275 largest U.S. city.
How big is Clearwater?
Clearwater covers 26.2 square miles of land and 12.1 square miles of water. Its population density is about 4,367 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population shrank 2.5% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 117,343 → 2025: 114,364 (-2.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
117,343
April 1, 2020
2020
117,250
July 1, 2020
2021
117,079
July 1, 2021
2022
117,224
July 1, 2022
2023
117,264
July 1, 2023
2024
116,063
July 1, 2024
2025
114,364
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 7.2% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Clearwater is the #275 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #20 in Florida.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
117,343
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
-2,979
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
-2.5%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
-1,699
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
-1.5%
within V2025 only
Density
4,367
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
26.2
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#275
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#20
of 411 in Florida
What is the median household income in Clearwater?
Median household income is 15% below the U.S. median ($66,381 vs $77,719); 14.8% live in poverty — 2.3 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$66,381
US
Clearwater: $66,381 — 15% below the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Clearwater
$66,381
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Clearwater from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
66,381-14.6% vs US
±2,396
Per capita income
44,653+3.2% vs US
±1,953
Population in poverty
14.8%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 19% above the U.S. median ($361,300 vs $303,400); median rent is 23% above ($1,658 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 5.4×, making it 1.4× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Median home value$361,300
US
Clearwater: $361,300 — 19% above the US median of $303,400.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,977/mo
US
Clearwater: $1,977/mo — 84% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Clearwater. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.3%
Clearwater (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
60,322
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
20.7%+47.8% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Clearwater sits in Pinellas County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Pinellas County
10.8%
$73,605
3.3%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Clearwater's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
70,089
$1,283 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
51,535
$806 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
50,059
$600 / wk
#4
Professional and technical services (54)
35,757
$1,715 / wk
#5
Manufacturing (31-33)
35,156
$1,510 / wk
What workers earn in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Retail Salespersons is the largest tracked occupation in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro (45,130 jobs, median $33,790/yr).
▸Show all 13 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Customer Service Representatives
34,150
$42,660
$20.51
Fast Food and Counter Workers
33,910
$29,260
$14.07
Cashiers
25,820
$30,290
$14.56
Waiters and Waitresses
25,280
$37,070
$17.82
Stockers and Order Fillers
23,830
$35,420
$17.03
Office Clerks, General
23,680
$45,680
$21.96
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
22,610
$37,570
$18.06
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
45,130
$33,790
$16.25
Registered Nurses · benchmark
38,720
$85,470
$41.09
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
35,700
$103,670
$49.84
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
15,840
$50,560
$24.31
Software Developers · benchmark
14,230
$130,450
$62.71
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run within 1 point of the U.S. average (RPP 100.9); rents stand out at RPP 125.8 (25.8% above the U.S. average).
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 100.9
US
Clearwater's cost of living runs 0.9% above the U.S. average (RPP 100.9 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 100.9
+0.9% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,977/mo
FY2026 · Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
0%
no state income tax · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$7,811/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,643/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Florida · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
17.2% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (12.3% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Clearwater's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
Hottest month: July (90°F avg high). Coldest: January (52°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 53.2 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Clearwater from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 98.2/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Lightning (99.8).
Natural-hazard exposure for Clearwater from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Pinellas County
98.2
Relatively High
Lightning 99.8 Very High · Coastal Flooding 99.2 Very High · Tornado 99.0 Very High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Clearwater?
13 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 30% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Clearwater from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
13 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
10
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
30.6%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
29.5%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
67,424
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Clearwater sits at state rank #20 among 411 cities in Florida. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Rio Rancho, NM · #274 · 114,419 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Tuscaloosa, AL · #276 · 114,316 residents.
Quick travel facts for Clearwater
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport(PIE) · 7 mi 11 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Feb, Mar, Dec · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Clearwater.
How many people live in Clearwater, FL?
Clearwater has 114,364 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #275 largest city in the United States and #20 in Florida. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Clearwater growing or shrinking?
Clearwater has shrunk 2.5% since the April 2020 census baseline, losing 2,979 residents, including a 1.5% decline from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Clearwater's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Clearwater is 1212875. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
