Cities › FL
Tampa
Mayor Jane Castor · Democratic · in office since May 1, 2019
The Executive Summary
Mayor Jane Castor (D) has led Tampa since May 2019; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — Tampa ranks No. 5 of 21 big cities. On Castor's watch, poverty rate fell 17.7% → 14.7% across 2021–2024. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and outcomes are shared with the council and the economy — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 4% (2025) | +0.02σ · -2.08%/yr vs peers -4.09%/yr · 2021–2025 (5 pts) |
| Median household income $84,114 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | +0.80σ · +4.01%/yr vs peers +1.04%/yr · 2021–2024 (4 pts) |
| Poverty rate 14.7% (2024) | +0.64σ · -6.65%/yr vs peers -1.76%/yr · 2021–2024 (4 pts) |
| Government form | Strong mayor |
Tampa is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to Jane Castor. The score is Tampa's economic trend during their tenure, measured against the other 49 largest cities over the same years.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 5 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Median household income. About the middle of the pack. $73,400 → $84,114 across 2021–2024.
Poverty rate. About the middle of the pack. 17.7% → 14.7% across 2021–2024.
Unemployment. Better than the typical big city. 4.8% → 4% across 2021–2025.
How this is scored: 60% is where Tampa stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Castor's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. Tampa is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to the mayor.
Tampa sits in FL, whose governor Ron DeSantis holds a scored statewide record (No. 17 of 29). State outcomes are not the mayor’s grade — a city is not a state — but they’re the nearest verified context today.