Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out the number of high rises isn’t the only thing growing. A recent research study found that the St. Pete-Tampa-Clearwater metro area was the 8th fastest growing metro in the country by the end of 2023, a sign of healthy local economies.

Conducted and compiled by Patrick Clapp of Chmura Analytics and the Area Development Research Desk, the new study measures data over a five-year span to ensure longevity. The Tampa Bay Area was actually sandwiched in between two other Florida metros inside the top 10, with Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville checking in at No. 7, and Tallahassee securing the No. 9 spot.

Researchers said the key factors in the study are the local gross domestic product and how it’s trending, unemployment rates, what kinds of jobs are growing, how well the needs of employers are matching with what the labor market has to offer, and the activity in such hot sectors as high-tech manufacturing and R&D, and other occupations linked to science, technology, engineering, and math.

One of the drivers locally, which researchers say was weighted heavily in their work, is growth within the tech sector, an area in which St. Pete, Tampa and Clearwater have all seen explosive growth the last few years.

“There’s good reason to pay close attention to high-tech industries when gauging the relative strength of a metropolitan area,” researchers said. “That is where much of the economic activity can be found and where much of the future is headed.”

The St. Pete-Tampa-Clearwater metro ranked inside the top 25 for economic strength (7), core economic indicators (8), and prime workforce (22), with workforce readiness just outside the top 25, coming in at No. 26 in the country. The area’s ranking in the final two factors were job growth indicators (31), and wage and salary growth (49), giving the region top 50 rankings in all phases. Overall, the study ranked 384 metro areas, with Kokomo, Indian coming in last.

With the five-year window for measurement, researchers wanted to avoid such disrupting factors as the covid pandemic or one-year blips that could be caused by factors such as a headquarters relocation.

“We want to see the staying power of a region,” said Chris Chmura, founder and CEO of Chmura Economics & Analytics. “Sort of like the tortoise and the hare. We want to see consistent growth over time. If it’s just last 12 months, you may have a company that’s moved in, an expansion, a one-time effect.”

See the full study here.