Clearwater, FL — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Florida·Clearwater

Pinellas County · Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater · population 116,811

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Clearwater, FL
Image: Wikipedia · Clearwater, Florida
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46
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Clearwater stands

Home values down 4.3% in the last year.

Median home $341,503
1-year -4.3%
5-yr CAGR +4.4%
vs 5-yr peak -10.3%
Population -0.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-04$342k$162k$240k$318k$396k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
52/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
87/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,960/mo$0$1,071$2,142202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent12413380100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 14.5
Buy

At a 14.5 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Clearwater on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 14.5 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
28 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
61 · w22%
Distance from peak
44 · w18%
Population growth
43 · w16%
Rent YoY
30 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
74 · w10%
Long thesis

Clearwater has held up across the cycle: home values at $341,503 with +4.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Clearwater is down 4.3% over the last 12 months and the trend isn't flattening. Falling knife rule applies: you don't catch one with your hands, you wait for it to hit the floor and stop moving.

About Clearwater

Clearwater is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, with an estimated population of 116,811. It anchors the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area. The median home value in Clearwater is $341,503 as of 2026-04, down 4.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.4% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 10% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Clearwater average $1,960 per month, down 3.0% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 46 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

Bull case

The data is the data: Clearwater has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

Bear case

Cooling: -4.3% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
10% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.

About Clearwater (Wikipedia)

Clearwater is a city in and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa and north of St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 117,292. It is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay area.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

Area35.92 sq mi
Elevation66 ft
Motto"Bright and Beautiful•Bay to Beach"
Density4488.62/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Clearwater(Tourism)

  • Tampa Bay Times
  • Pinellas County Courthouse in Clearwater
  • Capitol Theatre
  • John Stansel Taylor
  • Lester Avery
  • Donald Roebling Estate
  • Belleair
  • Belleview Hotel
  • Robert Morton Organ Company
  • Donald Roebling
  • Sally Rand
  • Fred Stone

+8 more on Wikipedia.

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Playbook

Buyer

You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it.

Seller

Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.

Investor

Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Pinellas County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Pinellas County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Clearwater

52 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Countrypark$836,394+0.8%
2Sand Key$791,427-5.9%
3Clearwater Beach$720,530-6.1%
4Coachman Ridge$719,185+0.5%
5Clubhouse Estates$630,842-0.1%
6Del Oro Groves$626,144-0.3%
7Old Clearwater Bay$605,423-2.3%
8Oak Forest of Countryside$571,193-2.6%
9Edgewater Drive$564,736+2.8%
10Northwood Estates$562,249-2.5%
11Glennwood$497,468+1.4%
12Island Estate$479,518-7.0%
13Imperial Park$466,702-1.3%
14College Park$459,244-2.0%
15Morningside Meadows$457,649-1.7%
16Oak Acres Estates$450,275-2.9%
17Plumb Oaks$449,159-3.4%
18Downtown$447,712+0.5%
19Douglas Manor$435,571-3.5%
20University Park$429,607-0.8%
21Woodgate$429,586-5.3%
22Hillcrest$425,667+6.0%
23Spring Lakes of Clearwater$418,369-2.5%
24Kapok$415,578-2.1%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Clearwater

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
70° / 51°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
90° / 73°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
233
~64% of year
Annual precip
54″ rain
0″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very high
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Very high

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Clearwater listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
76%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$67,900
Florida state median
Top industries (state-level)
TourismHealthcareConstruction

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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