The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. Census. The exact boundaries of the metro area can differ in different contexts. Hillsborough County and Pinellas County (including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and various smaller communities) make up the most limited definition. This area includes most of the Tampa Bay bayfront, aside from the far southern portion which lies in Manatee County. The United States Census Bureau defines the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as including Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties as well as Hernando and Pasco Counties to the north; and it is the 18th-largest MSA in the country. Unlike most large metropolitan areas, Tampa does not belong to any combined statistical area and is the second-largest MSA in the United States not to belong to one (after San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad). Other definitions of the Tampa Bay area include: the four counties in the MSA plus Citrus and Manatee Counties, used by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council the four counties in the MSA plus Citrus, Manatee and Sarasota Counties, used by the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority the four counties in the MSA plus Citrus, Manatee, Sarasota and Polk Counties, used by the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Tampa Bay media market. This wider area may also be known as West Central Florida as part of Central Florida. History When the Spanish first arrived in the area of Tampa Bay, they encountered people of the Safety Harbor culture. About 20 sites with temple mounds have been found around Tampa Bay, with several in Pinellas County. Best known of the Safety Harbor people was the chiefdom of Tocobaga, which was likely located at the Safety Harbor site in Philippe Park in northern Pinellas County. Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area The population of the Tampa Bay MSA is 3,175,275 people as of the 2020 United States census. The following is a list of principal cities and unincorporated communities, including census-designated places (CDPs), located in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater MSA based on the 2010 U.S. Census: Principal cities Each of these cities has a population in excess of 250,000 inhabitants: Tampa St. Petersburg More