Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Florida

Madeira Beach, Florida

Madeira Beach is a suburb of about 3,900 people in Pinellas County, Florida, in the Tampa area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 9.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tampa, is about 23 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townSuburb of Tampa

Population
3,940
up 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$722,800
Pinellas County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$75,781
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Tampa area
100.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Saint Petersburg, FL
To Tampa
23 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.9% above the U.S. average in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 9.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Madeira Beach itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byHCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital in Saint Petersburg, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTampa is about 23 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Madeira Beach meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Madeira Beach runs into the built-up area around Tampa (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Tourist town. About 29% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$722,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Pinellas County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$75,781U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$6,052 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
29%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.9U.S. average = 100 (the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, not Madeira Beach alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,9402020: 3,890
Median age
58.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
29%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
7%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
49%U.S.: 36%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (21%); professional and business services (18%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
47 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
22%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital, Saint Petersburg, FL, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Madeira Beach, run by Pinellas. The nearest public high school is St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, about 4 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
52°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
94 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
52.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
4 feet

Weather stations: St Petersburg Intl Ap (10 miles away) and St Petersburg (10 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital, Pinellas Park, Tampa.

Pinellas County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • De Soto National Memorial21 miles

Read about Madeira Beach's history on Wikipedia.

Know Madeira Beach?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Bear Creek, FL (unincorporated)2,179 people, 5 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.