Sugar Land vs Tampa
The short version
- Sugar Land is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 2% lower than in the Tampa area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $420,400 in Tampa and $430,200 in Sugar Land.
- Households earn more in Sugar Land ($136,217 vs $75,475 median).
- Tampa has the warmer winter: January highs of 71°F vs 64°F.
- Tampa is growing faster: +7.3% since 2020 vs -3%.
- Commutes are shorter in Tampa (25 vs 29 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Sugar Land, TX | Tampa, FL | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 107,726 | 413,554 |
| Growth since 2020 | -3% | +7.3% |
| People per square mile | 2,662 | 3,612 |
| Median age | 42.8 | 35.9 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 63% | 46% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $136,217 | $75,475 |
| Median home value | $430,200 | $420,400 |
| Home value to income | 3.2× | 5.6× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,957 | $1,701 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 98.6 | 100.9 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 104.5 | 125.8 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $74,000 | $75,700 |
| Homeowners | 80% | 50% |
| Top state income tax | None | None |
| Combined sales tax | 8.2% | 6.98% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 28.9 | 24.8 |
| Work from home | 24% | 22% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.1% | 4.9% |
| Poverty rate | 5.5% | 15.5% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 64° / 45° | 71° / 53° |
| July high / low | 95° / 76° | 91° / 77° |
| Precipitation per year | 50 in | 50 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 112 | 94 |
| Nights below freezing | 10 | 1 |
| Comfortable months | 6 | 7 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 97.5 | 98.8 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 10% | 50% |
| Home prices, past year | +3.4% | +1.1% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +32.7% | +47.8% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Sugar Land: November to April. Tampa: October to April.
Full monthly tables: Sugar Land weather by month and Tampa weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $74,000 in Sugar Land and $75,700 in Tampa. Moving from Sugar Land to Tampa, you would need about $76,700 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Sugar Land and Tampa
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Sugar Land and Tampa.
Which would you pick?
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