About Clearwater Florida

Clearwater
Clearwater is located at the heart of Florida's Gulf Coast, just West of Tampa. It is 218 miles northwest of Miami, 91 miles southwest of Orlando and 174 miles from Jacksonville. From Clearwater it is less than a day's drive to all the major cities in Florida, including Key West.
Geographically, the county is small and its population density is the highest in the state.
Some statistics
(Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area includes the counties of Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas)

Population: 2.6 million
Clearwater population-110,000
Median age: 41.8
Average annual rainfall is 49 inches.
Average annual temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
In January, the average low is 50.1; in July the average high is 90.4
35 miles of beaches
Employment by industry (Pinellas County)

Construction 5.0%      
Education & Health Services   19.1%      
Financial Activities 7.4%
Information 2.5%       
Leisure & Hospitality 9.9%   
Manufacturing      8.6%
Natural Resources & Mining    0.1%
Other Services 3.2%   
Professional & Business Services 21.4%  
Public administration     4.9% 6.1%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 17.8%
Average Annual Wage (2003)

All Industries $33,129
 Cost of Living as of 2004

Total  103.74
See comparable Florida statewide CGI’s below:

Monroe  112.43
Dade 106.28
Broward 15.80
Pinellas 103.74
Sarasota 102.90
Palm Beach 102.69
Collier 100.99
Hillsborough 100.86
Seminole 99.48
Manatee 99.22
St. Johns 99.18
Orange 99.04
Brevard 97.92
Lee 97.80
(Population Weighted-State Average=100
National comparisons
Cost of living (100 = nationwide average)

New York, NY       364
Long Beach, NY    340
Palo Alto, CA        268
Menlo Park, CA     265
Los Altos, CA        261
Saratoga, CA        261
Boston, MA          240
Malibu, CA            233
San Francisco, CA 217
Greenwich, CT      215
Cambridge, MA     211
Santa Monica, CA 197
Keystone, CO       194
San Rafael, CA     192
Weston, CT          192
Darien, CT            192
Wellesley, MA       192
Fort Lee, NJ         189
Arlington, VA        184
Honolulu, HI        184
Washington, DC   181
Princeton, NJ        180
Vail, CO                178
Chicago, IL           166
Sunnyvale, CA     164
San Mateo, CA     163
Marathon, FL       161
Ridgewood, NJ      159
Mystic, CT           159
For a complete list go to http://verticals.yahoo.com/cities/categories/costofliving.html

Economy and employment outlook
Clearwater is home to a wide range of Hi-tech industries including computer components, surgical instruments and data communication.
Clearwater is also home to more than 7,000 small businesses,
Housing information

The average cost of a typical inland dry house runs about 250K
The average cost of a typical canal house runs about
The average cost of a typical open oceanfront House? 2 million lot value and up
The average cost of a typical inland 2/1 dry condo 175K
the average cost of a typical canal condo runs 350K and up
The average cost of a typical open oceanfront condo runs 550K and up
As of Sept 2005, per an MLS search, the least expensive 2/2 was $137,900 (manufactured home)
In Clearwater Beach, the least expensive was $649,000
Transportation
Airports

Tampa International Airport (19 miles to the beach)
St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport
Orlando and Sanford International Airports is 90 minutes away.,
Miami International Airport-4 hrs away.
See Tampa transportation links.
In conclusion, if you like a fast paced lifestyle and lots of options, this could be just the place.
For more specific information about this area go to the info links at Tampa

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