Living in Gulfport, FL means a two block downtown on the water, a Tuesday market, a night market twice a month, and a beach you can walk to from a 1920s cottage. The city is less than three square miles of land tucked between St. Petersburg and Boca Ciega Bay, with about 11,400 residents and a waterfront district that feels more like a fishing village than a suburb. Homes sold for a median of about $400,000 in August 2026.
Downtown St. Petersburg is about six miles east, a fifteen minute drive. St. Pete Beach and Pass-a-Grille are ten to fifteen minutes west across the Pasadena bridge. Tampa International Airport is about 24 miles and 35 to 45 minutes away.
We are grateful to help buyers discover Gulfport every year, and this guide covers the neighborhoods, the weekly rhythm, the marina, the market numbers, the flood and tax picture, and the projects rebuilding the waterfront in 2026.
Where Is Gulfport and What Makes It Different?
Gulfport was incorporated in 1910 and is one of the oldest towns in Pinellas County, which shows in the streets. The grid runs on a small scale. Beach Boulevard South is the main street, and it ends at the water beside the Casino Ballroom, the beach, and Williams Pier. Everything downtown is within a five minute walk of everything else.
The population is about 11,400, and the city is older than most of Tampa Bay: nearly 38 percent of residents are 65 or over. About 74 percent of homes are owner occupied. The median household income is about $71,000. This is a town of people who chose it on purpose and stayed.
The character is creative and relaxed. Galleries, a kava bar, a brewery, an Italian trattoria, and a waterfront bar with late night karaoke share the same two blocks. Bikes and low speed vehicles are common on the 25 mile per hour grid. Dogs are everywhere, and Clam Bayou and Chase Park both welcome them.
Which Part of Gulfport Fits You?
Gulfport's neighborhoods are small, and the differences come down to distance from the water, elevation, and building age. Here is the quick map.
Area | What it looks like | Typical price range |
|---|---|---|
Waterfront District | Beach Boulevard and Shore Boulevard, cottages and bungalows steps from the beach and the restaurants | $450,000 to $1 million and up |
Art Village and 49th Street | Colorful bungalows, small shops, walk to the Tuesday market | $350,000 to $600,000 |
Central bungalow blocks | 1920s Florida cottages and 1950s block ranches on the grid north of the waterfront | $350,000 to $500,000 |
Marina District | Around the municipal marina on the Clam Bayou side, boating access, quick to downtown | $400,000 to $700,000; more on the water |
Town Shores | 55 and over condo community on the bay, 18 buildings, four pools, gated | Low $200,000s to low $700,000s |
Pasadena Yacht and Country Club edge | Gated golf and deep water pockets on the west side | $900,000 to $2.9 million |
These are working ranges from current listings, not appraisals. Single family homes listed at a median of about $440,000 in September 2026, with three bedroom homes near $455,000 and four bedroom homes near $980,000. Condos listed at a median near $245,000, with one bedrooms near $160,000 and two bedrooms near $265,000.
The Waterfront District
This is the part of Gulfport people picture. Cottages sit a block or two from Beach Boulevard, and the sunset over Boca Ciega Bay is the nightly show. It is also the lowest ground in the city, and most of it sits in the AE flood zone. Elevated homes and newer construction on pilings carry the lightest insurance here.
The Art Village and 49th Street
The 49th Street corridor is where the galleries and the studios live, and the bungalows around it are some of the most colorful houses in Pinellas. This area also sits on the higher ridge that runs along Gulfport Boulevard, which matters for flood insurance.
Town Shores
Town Shores of Gulfport is a 55 and over community of 1,327 condos in 18 buildings on the bay, built between 1970 and 1981. Units run from about 815 to 2,200 square feet with one to three bedrooms. Monthly fees run from about $279 to $821. There are four pools, a clubhouse with a fitness room and ballroom, bocce, pickleball, shuffleboard, tennis, and a kayak and boat launch. It is the reason so many retirees land in Gulfport first.
What Does a Week in Gulfport Look Like?
Gulfport runs on a calendar, and the calendar repeats every week. Once you know it, the town makes sense.
- Tuesday, nine to two: the Gulfport Tuesday Fresh Market on Beach Boulevard, year round, with free parking.
- First Friday and Third Saturday evenings: the Gulfport Night Markets on Beach Boulevard, run by the Merchants Chamber, with vendors, music, and the restaurants spilling onto the sidewalk.
- Any morning: Clam Bayou Nature Park, a free one mile loop of boardwalks through the mangroves with a kayak launch, roseate spoonbills, and night herons, open from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset. Leashed dogs are welcome.
- Any evening: the beach and Williams Pier at the foot of Beach Boulevard, open around the clock, for the sunset.
- September: GeckoFest, a free ten hour waterfront festival with a costumed walking parade that turned 26 in 2026.
- February: Get Rescued, the pet adoption festival that fills Beach Boulevard with dogs.
Beach Boulevard
The restaurants are the social life. Pia's Trattoria serves Italian indoors and out. Stella's does breakfast and brunch. O'Maddy's is the waterfront bar with the late night karaoke. Gulfport Brewery and Eatery pours its own beer. Low Tide Kava Bar is where the night ends. Neptune Grill fills in the middle. None of them require a reservation on a Tuesday, and all of them are walkable from most of the city.
The library and the theater
The Gulfport Public Library on 28th Avenue South is open six days a week and runs a full program calendar, including the orientation session it holds for new residents. Next door, the Catherine Hickman Theater has 181 seats, free parking, and a season of plays, concerts, and films, with the Gulfport Community Players staging their productions there.
The parks
The Waterfront Complex on Shore Boulevard has pavilions you can reserve. Veterans Park at 54th Street is getting a living shoreline. Chase Park at 27th Avenue and 54th Street is the off leash dog park. Tomlinson Park is the recreation complex, and Wood Ibis Park is the quiet one on 58th Street.
What About the Casino Ballroom?
The 1930 Gulfport Casino Ballroom is on the National Register, and it has been closed since Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The building shifted on its foundation and flooded, with about $3 million in damage. Before the storm it was the city's main event venue and brought in about $500,000 a year.
The city approved $300,000 for engineering and design, and the historic hardwood floors triggered state and federal review. As of July 2026 the drawings were 60 percent complete. The city expects to bid the work by the end of 2026 and then spend roughly a year on construction. The current target is late 2027, and the city has promised a public update once the reopening is six months out.
The day docks beside the Casino are a different story. The old ones were demolished in July 2026, and the new floating docks were finished ahead of schedule and expected to open around October 1, 2026, pending lighting and inspection.
What Does It Cost to Keep a Boat Here?
The Gulfport Municipal Marina is one of the best values on the bay for slip fees. Resident monthly rates run from $216 for a 25 foot slip to $411 for a 45 foot slip, plus tax, with non residents paying roughly 40 percent more. A 30 foot slip with a lift is $427 for residents. Dry storage is $120 a month, a kayak rack is $35, and the boat ramp is $10 a day or $34 a year for residents.
The South Basin lost 56 slips to Helene. The city received its Army Corps permit in September 2026 to rebuild them at a cost of about $1.5 million, funded by insurance and FEMA, and the goal is to finish by the end of 2026. The city council was set to discuss new dock rules in October. If a slip is part of your plan, ask about the wait list before you buy, because demand will be high once the basin reopens.
Clam Bayou gives you a paddle launch for free. Boca Ciega Bay is protected water, and the Gulf is a short run out through Pass-a-Grille.
What Do Homes Cost in 2026?
The median sale price in Gulfport was about $400,000 in August 2026, up about 11 percent from a year earlier, with a median of 71 days on the market. The price per square foot rose to about $323. Homes sold for about 95 percent of the asking price, and the market ranks as not very competitive, which means buyers have leverage and time.
Other sources land close by. Movoto showed a median of about $390,000 and 158 active listings for the same month. The typical annual property tax bill, per Ownwell, is about $3,085 on a median assessed value of about $314,000, which reflects how long many owners have held their homes under the Save Our Homes cap.
How Gulfport compares
Pinellas County's single family median was $464,950 in August 2026 with 3.5 months of supply. Gulfport sits below that on price and above it on walkability, and it remains one of the few places in south Pinellas where a cottage within walking distance of the water can still be found under $500,000.
What Are the Taxes and the Flood Picture?
Gulfport's city millage is 4.0258, and the city council held it flat for both 2026 and 2027. The total 2025 millage for a Gulfport address was 17.4930 mills once the county, transit, emergency medical services, and the other districts are added. For comparison, St. Petersburg's total was 19.9197. On a $400,000 home with a homestead exemption, that is roughly $6,100 a year before the Save Our Homes cap starts working in your favor.
Flood zones
About a third of the city sits in the federal special flood hazard area, based on the city's most recent floodplain plan. The waterfront, Town Shores, the Marina District, and the low streets south of Gulfport Boulevard are mostly AE, with VE wave zones hugging the bay edge. The ridge along Gulfport Boulevard and 49th Street and the northern grid toward 22nd Avenue South are mostly zone X. The county property appraiser and the FEMA map service show every parcel.
The city participates in the Community Rating System, which gives flood policyholders a discount on their premiums. Countywide averages for flood insurance in Pinellas run about $1,500 a year in AE, about $1,750 in VE, and about $630 in zone X, and elevation and construction type move those numbers a great deal. Get a real quote during the inspection period.
What Is Being Rebuilt in 2026?
Gulfport spent 2025 and 2026 rebuilding its waterfront, and most of that work lands this fall and next year.
- Casino day docks: new floating docks expected to open around October 1, 2026.
- Marina South Basin: 56 slips rebuilt by the end of 2026, permit in hand.
- Casino Ballroom: bidding by the end of 2026, reopening targeted for late 2027.
- Veterans Park living shoreline: 180 feet of oyster reef balls and native plantings, approved in July 2026, with design through mid 2027 and installation by 2028.
- Gulfport Beach: 2,000 cubic yards of new sand and sheet pile headwalls already added, with a marina district living shoreline underway.
- Seaside Villas: the storm damaged 1964 apartments on Shore Boulevard are being replaced by a single five story, 121 unit building with ground floor parking and units elevated above 22 feet, opening in summer 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gulfport a good place to live?
For people who want a walkable waterfront town with a weekly market, a creative streak, and a short drive to both downtown St. Pete and the beaches, yes. It is small on purpose, and the people who live here like it that way.
How much does a house cost in Gulfport?
The median sale price was about $400,000 in August 2026. Condos start near $140,000, cottages on the grid mostly run $350,000 to $500,000, and waterfront and gated golf homes run from about $900,000 to nearly $3 million.
Does Gulfport have a beach?
Yes. Gulfport Beach sits at the foot of Beach Boulevard on Boca Ciega Bay beside the Casino Ballroom and Williams Pier. It is a calm bay beach, and the Gulf beaches at St. Pete Beach and Pass-a-Grille are ten to fifteen minutes away.
Is Gulfport in a flood zone?
About a third of the city is. The waterfront and the low streets south of Gulfport Boulevard are mostly AE, and the ridge along 49th Street and the northern grid are mostly zone X. Check the exact parcel before you write an offer.
When will the Gulfport Casino reopen?
The city is targeting late 2027. Bidding is expected by the end of 2026, followed by about a year of construction. The new day docks beside it were expected to open in early October 2026.
How far is Gulfport from downtown St. Petersburg?
About six miles, or fifteen minutes by car. The SunRunner bus rapid transit line stops on Pasadena Avenue a short ride north of downtown Gulfport and runs to downtown St. Pete and St. Pete Beach every fifteen minutes for $2.25.
Is Town Shores a good option for retirees?
It is the most popular one in the city. It is a 55 and over community on the bay with four pools, a clubhouse, pickleball, tennis, and a boat launch, with condos from the low $200,000s. Monthly fees vary by building, so compare them carefully.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Living in Gulfport is about the Tuesday market, the sunset at the pier, and knowing the people behind the counter. We are honored to help buyers find the right cottage, condo, or waterfront home here, and to be honest about flood zones, insurance, and the rebuilding still underway.
If Gulfport is on your list, reach out to Rocks Realty. We would be glad to walk Beach Boulevard with you, pull the flood map on any address, and help you decide with confidence.
