Lealman vs St. Petersburg

Which is the better fit for you?

Lealman, FL
47
Area Score
Bottom 11% nationally
St. Petersburg, FL
54
Area Score
Bottom 33% nationally

Want a third or fourth place beside these? Open them in the shortlist and add more.

St. Petersburg receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Lealman to St. Petersburg

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Everyday prices
About the same
Regional price level 102.5 against 102.5 (US = 100). Both places sit in the same price region, so the index cannot tell them apart.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Enter your household income to see it.
A new two-bedroom lease
+$64 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $1,917 in St. Petersburg against $1,852 in Lealman.
The median home
89% more
$371,100 in St. Petersburg against $196,400 in Lealman.
The weather you would swap
Similar winters
Normal January lows are 55°F in St. Petersburg against 55°F in Lealman; July highs are 90°F against 90°F (summers the same).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Lealman
St. Petersburg
Opportunity: St. Petersburg is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
32 · Bottom 8%
vs
50 · Bottom 37%
Growth: St. Petersburg is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
55 · Top 38%
vs
66 · Top 20%
Climate
83 · Top 10%
vs
83 · Top 10%
Physical resilience
34 · Bottom 27%
vs
34 · Bottom 27%
Housing affordability: St. Petersburg is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
53 · Bottom 24%
vs
54 · Bottom 26%
Schools: St. Petersburg is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
18 · Bottom 10%
vs
29 · Bottom 24%
Access
99 · Top 16%
vs
99 · Top 16%
Economic stability: St. Petersburg is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
38 · Bottom 19%
vs
50 · Bottom 35%

Measured values

MetricLealmanSt. PetersburgSource period
Population20,567262,7322024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income$45,308$75,192 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$27,813$51,961 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Population density5,112/sq mi4,251/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$196,400$371,1002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent$1,247 — more favorable$1,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$1,852 — more favorable$1,917FY2026
Cost of living index102.5102.52023
Homeownership rate62.9%62.8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate4.4%4.2% — more favorableJuly 2026
Employment change (year over year)−1.2%−1.2%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher17.8%42.6% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.0%12.1% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)3,9012,84112 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents4.010.8 — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)+78.4%+175.3% — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Average July high90°F90°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low55°F55°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation46.6"46.6"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport6 mi — more favorable10 miNASR current cycle
Average commute — the two are too close to separate25.8 min ±1.9 min26.7 min ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age43.643.12024 ACS 5-Year
Public schools4352024-25 school year
Students per teacher12.0 — more favorable15.72024-25 school year
Math proficiency33.1%50.0% — more favorable2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency29.5%50.9% — more favorable2018-19 school year
Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility73.4%52.2%2024-25 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

One row above shows both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison.

Physical risk tradeoff

Lealman

Elevated or high exposure: coastal flooding, hurricane.

St. Petersburg

Elevated or high exposure: coastal flooding, hurricane.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Lealman
—
Lealman: Your Score
47
Area Score
St. Petersburg
—
St. Petersburg: Your Score
54
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Lealman, FL · St. Petersburg, FL · How this is calculated: methodology