than 100,000 inhabitants Clearwater Lakeland Riverview (CDP) Brandon (CDP) Spring Hill (CDP) More than 10,000 inhabitants Demographics According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater MSA consists of the following ethnic demographics: Age Race and ethnicity Hispanic or Latino by origin Geography The Tampa Bay area is located along Tampa Bay which it is named for. Pinellas County and St. Petersburg, Florida lies on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the city of Tampa, Florida lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay. Climate The Tampa Bay area has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with hot, humid summers, with daily thunderstorms, drier, predominantly sunny winters, and warm-to-hot springs with a pronounced dry season maximum. On average, two days experience frost per year in the cooler parts of the Tampa Bay area, less than annually in the coastal parts. However, hard freezes (low temperatures below ) are very rare, occurring only a few times in the last 75 years. The United States Department of Agriculture designates the area as being in hardiness zones 9b and 10a. Coastal parts of the Tampa Bay area closely border a tropical savanna climate (As) with many tropical microclimates due to maritime influences of the Gulf of Mexico and the 400-square-mile Tampa Bay. Plant climate-indicator species such as coconut palms and royal palms, as well as other elements of south Florida's native tropical flora, reach their northern limits of reliable culture and native range in the area. Highs usually range between year-round. Tampa's official high has never reached —the all-time record high temperature is . St. Petersburg's all-time record high is exactly . Pinellas County lies on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the city of Tampa lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay. This proximity to large bodies of water both moderates local temperatures and introduces large amounts of humidity into the atmosphere. In general, the communities farthest from the coast have more extreme temperature differences, both during a single day and throughout the seasons of the year. Economy As of July 1, 2019, the largest employers within the Tampa Bay area are: Finance and insurance Nearly one in four of the state's business and information services firms resides in Tampa Bay. These firms range from financial services firms to information technology providers to