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Today, Tampa is a part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.

For U. S. Census purposes, Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The four-county area is composed of roughly 2. 7 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistical area ( MSA ) in the state, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Miami, Washington, D. C., and Atlanta.

The Greater Tampa Bay area has just over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas.

The Tampa Bay Partnership and U. S. Census data showed an average annual growth of 2. 47 percent, or a gain of approximately 97, 000 residents per year.

Between 2000 and 2006, the Greater Tampa Bay Market experienced a combined growth rate of 14. 8 percent, growing from 3. 4 million to 3. 9 million and hitting the 4 million people mark on April 1, 2007.