Tampa Bay Has 2 Of The Top 10 Boating Cities In Florida

There’s no shortage of activities to do here in Florida. Given the year-round warm temperatures, tourists flock to the Sunshine State to tie one on and cut loose. For locals and tourists alike, these 2 Tampa Bay cities were named some of the top boating destinations in Florida.

GetMyBoat recently put together a list of the top 10 most popular cities in Florida for boating. With Florida having over 8% of all registered boats in the country, there’s no doubt boating is one of the most popular activities in Florida. From fishing to water skiing or just hanging out, thousands use boats every day throughout the state.

To determine these rankings, they analyzed boat rental data in Florida from their platform, Getmyboat. They took the cities that boat owners register their boats in as listed on their profile within the platform. Outlier hourly and total trip rates were excluded from this report “while rental types were categorized into the significant categories to be evaluated in this report.”

Any guesses? Miami claims the #1 boating city in Florida AND in the entire United States. The average hourly boat rental price in Miami is $202/hour. You have Biscayne Bay, Intercoastal Waterway, and the keys all within a short drive. 

Coming in at #6 on the list, Clearwater has an average hourly rental price of $99/hour. This is a huge drop from southern Florida’s Motor Yacht. We like to take things a bit slower around here with the most popular style of boat being the Pontoon. Clearwater is home to the most beautiful beaches in the world as well as nearby islands, Marinas and Tampa.

Pinellas County is back and repping the #9 spot going to St.Petersburg. With an average rental price of $112/hr, St. Pete gives boaters access to the Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay, and a variety of marinas to enjoy.

Florida is a dream destination for many. Families will come to visit, and then start planning their move to the Sunshine State. Can you blame them? There are many perks of living in Florida like the no income tax, gorgeous beaches, and endless recreational activities. When looking for the cheapest places to live in Florida, you're likely going to be directed to the smaller inland cities. But let's be real, you're probably making this move to be closer to the water. So we found a list of the cheapest places to live in Florida and condensed that list to focus on the places near the beach.

We found our list of the most affordable places to live in Florida from Property Club. They factored their list based on median housing prices, and other costs of living like groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare. For the housing prices, they compared average rents and median prices sold between January 2023 and January 2024. They drew their data from the U.S. Census, Zillow, Rent Café, and more.

With so many people relocating to Florida, it's made the housing market extremely competitive. Locals who are hoping to become first-time home buyers are stuck renting because they can't combat the cash offers from the transplants. According to Redfin, home prices were up 4.5% from 2023, with the median selling price at $404,100. In January 2024, 10.2% of homes in Florida sold above the list price.

Keep in mind when looking for cheap places to live near the beach, you won't ever be directly on the water. Nothing about living ocean-front is cheap. Keep in mind the cost of living in Florida is 1% higher than the national average. Another realtor blog, Norada, listed more affordable beach towns including Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tarpon Springs, and Bradenton. You can check out their full list here.

According to our source, the median cost of a home in Jacksonville is about $293,000, which is well below the national average. You can even find 1-bedrooom apartments for around $1,200/month. Jacksonville was also named one of the best cities to live in the south. Plus, there are plenty of job opportunities.

Edgewater is located off the east coast of Florida near Daytona Beach. Despite being so close to one of Florida's popular beaches, the cost of living is about 7% lower than the national average. The median home price here is about $305,000-$325,999.

This one shocked us. With Clearwater being one of the more expensive Florida beach towns, we were shocked to see Dunedin on this list. Don't get it twisted, there is so much to love about Dunedin. It's charming downtown area has so many great restaurants, breweries, and shops. And it's a less than 20 minute drive to the best beach in Florida, or you can head to the less crowded Dunedin Causeway or Honeymoon Island. Despite getting facelifts over the years with new housing and luxury apartments, Property Club says the median home cost is about $349,000. But it definitely won't stay that way forever.

Melbourne is located off the east coast of Florida and southeast from Orlando. It has that small-town appeal with plenty of outdoor recreation like beaches, golf courses, and the Viera Wetlands. The median cost of a home in Melbourne is about $375,000, and one bedroom apartments can be found for $1,300/month.

Cape Coral is going to be one of the most affordable cities in southwest Florida. Bonus perk is that it has one of the lowest crime rates in the state. It's also known for its many canals and gorgeous landscapes. According to Property Club, the median home price here is $391,000, which is just below the national average.