St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Since the 2020 demographics quote, the population was 271,842, making it the fifth-most heavily populated city in Florida and the biggest in the state that is not a county seat (the city of Clearwater is the seat of Pinellas County). St. Petersburg is the fifth-largest city in Florida as well as the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay area, after Tampa. Together with Clearwater, these cities comprise the Tampa– St. Petersburg– Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Location, the second-largest in Florida with a population of around 2.8 million. St. Petersburg is situated on the Pinellas peninsula between Tampa Bay and also the Gulf of Mexico, as well as is attached to mainland Florida to the north. St. Petersburg was founded in 1888 by John C. Williams, who bought the land, and also by Peter Demens who brought the railroad sector into the area. A coin toss wager was held between Williams and also Demens to call this freshly created community. Demens won the bet and consequently named the land after Saint Petersburg, Russia. Williams was after that given the right to name the very first resort built (which he called the Detroit Hotel). Both named their payouts after their personal home towns. St. Petersburg was incorporated as a community on February 29, 1892 and re-incorporated as a city on June 6, 1903.
The city is commonly described by residents as St. Pete. Bordering St. Pete Beach officially shortened its name in 1994 after a ballot by its residents. St. Petersburg is controlled by a mayor and also common council.
With approximately some 361 days of sunlight each year, and a Guinness World Record for logging one of the most consecutive days of sunshine (768 days between 1967 and 1969), it is nicknamed “The Sunshine City”. Located on the Gulf of Mexico, the average water temperature is usually around 76 ° F (24 ° C). As a result of its good weather condition and also inexpensive living, the city has long been a prominent retirement destination, although in recent times the population has actually moved in a lot younger direction.
American Style magazine placed St. Petersburg as its top mid-size city in 2011, citing its “lively” arts scene. The arts in St. Petersburg led the city to be called “One of the very best Road Art Cities in the World.” St. Petersburg was categorized as one of the top three locations to go to in Florida. CNN placed the city as the 7th finest area to retire, with 15 percent of the population over 65 years-old. In 2020, St. Petersburg was awarded a place on “the top cities to check out” in Conde Nast’s 33rd annual Conde Nast Traveler 2020 Reader’s Choice Awards. The city was identified for being a “perfect” vacation due to its legendary beaches as well as historic destinations. St. Petersburg most recently joined 290 other cities as an “International City of Tranquility”. This honor was given by the International Cities of Tranquility; the second city in Florida to be given the title.
