Tampa Bay's Best School ZIP Codes, Ranked by NCES Data (2026)
By Sharon Ben-Moshe · August 10, 2026
Tampa's 33629 posts the Tampa Bay area's top school score at 89/100 — well above the Florida average. See the full Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater ranking, and why top schools don't always mean the top overall score.
According to NCES assessment data, Tampa's 33629 ZIP code posts the highest school score in the Tampa Bay area at 89 out of 100, well above both Florida's 67 statewide average and the 62 national average. Here's how the Tampa Bay area's ZIP codes rank on schools, and why the highest school score doesn't always produce the highest overall NeighborScore.
Tampa Bay ZIP Codes Ranked by School Score
- Tampa 33629 (South Tampa): school 89, crime 65, overall 76
- Tampa 33606 (Hyde Park): school 80, crime 65, overall 72
- Saint Petersburg 33708: school 80, crime 25, overall 51
- Tampa 33647 (New Tampa): school 76, crime 65, overall 70
- Clearwater 33767 (Clearwater Beach): school 75, crime 65, overall 70
- Clearwater 33764: school 75, crime 65, overall 70
Why Saint Petersburg's Top School ZIP Trails on Overall Score
Saint Petersburg's 33708 ties for the metro's second-highest school score at 80, but its overall NeighborScore of 51 trails every Tampa ZIP on this list by at least 19 points. The gap is crime, not schools: Saint Petersburg's crime score of 25 reflects Pinellas County-level FBI data, while Tampa's 65 comes from Hillsborough County's municipal-agency figures — a higher-resolution, and in this case more favorable, data tier. NeighborScore's composite weights crime at 53% and school at 47% (affordability is shown separately as value score, not weighted in), so a 40-point crime-score gap outweighs a comparable school-score edge.
What This Means for School-Focused Homebuyers
For families prioritizing school quality specifically, 33629 and 33606 in South Tampa and Hyde Park combine the metro's strongest school scores with its higher crime-score tier, producing the two highest overall composites in this sample (76 and 72). Saint Petersburg's coastal ZIP codes offer comparable or better school scores at a lower overall composite, driven entirely by the crime-score gap described above — worth knowing before assuming "overall score" and "school quality" always move together.
Bottom Line
Tampa's 33629 leads the Tampa Bay area on school score at 89/100, more than 20 points above the Florida state average. But Saint Petersburg's 33708 shows that a strong school score doesn't guarantee a strong overall composite when the crime-score tier differs. According to NCES EdFacts data, full grade-band and proficiency detail for any of these ZIP codes is available on their individual NeighborScore profiles. See more school rankings on the NeighborScore blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Tampa Bay ZIP code has the best schools?
Tampa’s 33629 (South Tampa) has the Tampa Bay area’s highest school score at 89/100, well above Florida’s 67 statewide average and the 62 national average, according to NCES assessment data.
Why does Saint Petersburg’s 33708 rank lower overall despite a strong school score?
33708 ties for the metro’s second-highest school score at 80, but its crime score of 25 (Pinellas County-tier data) is far below Tampa’s 65 (Hillsborough County municipal-agency data). Since crime counts for 53% of the overall composite, 33708’s overall score of 51 trails Tampa ZIPs in the 70s.
What is the highest overall NeighborScore in the Tampa Bay area?
Tampa’s 33629 (South Tampa) posts the metro’s highest overall score at 76, combining its 89 school score with a 65 crime score.
How is NeighborScore’s overall score weighted?
Crime counts for 53% of the overall composite and school for 47%. Affordability (value score) is shown as separate context and is not weighted into the overall score.