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Florida›Hillsborough County

BalmFL

A town of 7,181, settled in 1902.

Is Balm a good place to live?

Balm is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 441st among Florida's 634 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $115K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $345K, 4.6 years of the Tampa metro’s $74K median household income. 4.3% of residents are 65 or older in Balm, below both the Florida town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 19 of Florida’s 776 towns score lower on walkability.

What makes Balm stand out

Where Balm beats most towns.

A growing town

Balm has grown 349% from 2010 to 2020

1,457 counted in 2010 and 6,541 in 2020.

1,4572010
6,5412020

U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts

How Balm grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Balm is from typical.

How grading works

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Nearby attractions

Tropicana Field and 66 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Balm. Close and well known come first.

All 82 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Tropicana Field: EaglesFanInTampa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raymond James Stadium: NASA, Public domain · Benchmark International Arena: Miosotis Jade, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Anna Maria Island: Bfpage at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · Busch Gardens Tampa: Wolle8ball, CC BY 3.0 · Salvador Dalí Museum: Taty2007, CC BY 3.0

Getting set up

Moving to Balm: who provides what

Balm is unincorporated, so Hillsborough County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerDuke Energy18.4¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterHcwrd/South-Central water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesHillsborough CountyHillsborough County provides services here
SchoolsHillsborough County School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Florida you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereHillsborough Supervisor of ElectionsHillsborough County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2023
ZIP codes33598, 33503, 3357933598 97% · 33503 2% · 33579 1%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Balm.

Balm has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, sends most of its workers to Tampa and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.

Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+

Fewer of Balm’s residents live below the poverty line than in the typical Florida or U.S. town

Balm has 163 jobs for its 3,007 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 36.6 minutes, against 28 across Florida.

2.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Balm. Most working residents leave Balm for work: only 0% work in town. The average trip to work in Balm is 37 minutes.

0%work in town
BalmFlorida townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work37 minutes27 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$115,000$73,000$80,000
Below the poverty line2.2%11%9.6%
Working residents who work in town0.4%5%8%

Where working residents work

In Balm0%
Tampa22%
East Lake-Orient Park5%
Brandon4%
St. Petersburg4%
21 mi
median commute distance
163
jobs based in Balm
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

OutdoorsA−

Conserved land covers 24.3% of Balm

1.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Balm’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.

#421for trails in FL
24.3%
conserved · 1,579 of 6,491 acres
1.0 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Ayersworth Park—3

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Climate

Mild winters and hot summers in Balm

January nights average 50.3°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91°.

Balm has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.

91°summer high
BalmFlorida townsU.S. towns
January low50°F51°F22°F
July high91°F91°F85°F

Typical low → high °F

Winter52–73°
Spring62–83°
Summer73–91°
Fall66–84°
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
91°
typical summer high

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HealthB

Balm ranks healthier than 60% of the country’s towns

Against the 6,499 U.S. towns with household incomes like Balm’s, it is less healthy than 74%: its national edge comes with its incomes.

Balm beats the Florida average on 7 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 41% of Balm adults sleep under 7 hours.

60%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
BalmFlorida townsU.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)41%37%36%
Depression (CDC PLACES)16%18%23%
Food insecurity (CDC PLACES)22%15%14%
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)76%79%79%
31 measures vs. Florida
7 better18 too close to call6 worse
What stands outBalmFL
Fewer adults who have had cancer5.8%9.1%
Fewer adults with heart disease5.2%7.5%
More adults facing housing insecurity19.1%13.9%
HCA Florida South Shore Hospital
5.4 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
55th
percentile among FL towns

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C

High risk in Balm, with hurricanes at the top

Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.

61risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
61High riskLowerHigher
HurricanesInland floodingTornadoes
6
federal disasters paid out here

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

HousingCost of living grade C−

For cost of living, Balm earns a C−

$348Kmedian sale price
Market temperature
BalancedA seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
46
days on market
99.5%
sale-to-list price
17
homes sold in May

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Balm

17pages on Balm
After high school

Colleges nearby

None within 15 miles of Balm; the nearest are

A commuter town

100% of working residents leave Balm for work

Where Balm’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

22% → Tampa Tampa 22% 5% → East Lake-Orient Park East Lake-Orient Park 5% 4% → Brandon Brandon 4% 4% → St. Petersburg St. Petersburg 4% 3% → Riverview Riverview 3% 2% → Sun City Center Sun City Center 2% Balm · 0% stay
163jobs based in Balm
0%of working residents work in town
21 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Balm

Unincorporated community in Florida, US

Balm is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Balm had a population of 6,541.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
10 sq mi
Elevation
131 ft
ZIP code
33503
Area code
813

Balm’s neighbors

3 towns share a border with Balm.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownFL rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Balm#441C−C−—C+B
Riverview#365CD—C+A−
Wimauma#550DD—C+C+
Sun City Center#489C−D—C+B

Balm, Riverview, Wimauma and Sun City Center report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Balm with a neighbor →

Questions about Balm

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Balm, FL a good place to live?

Balm grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #441 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and C+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.

Is Balm, FL expensive?

Yes. The typical home is worth about $345,000, 8% below the Florida typical home. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.