Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 29,834, settled in 1908.
Ruskin grades D overall, 510th among Florida's 634 graded towns. In its favor, it has 5 miles of trail. Ruskin’s average trip to work is 36 minutes, against 27 minutes in Florida’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Ruskin has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them George McA. Miller House and A.P. Dickman House. Homes are expensive, about $310K for a typical one and 4.2 times the Tampa metro’s $74K median household income.
17,208 counted in 2010 and 28,620 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Ruskin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,894 in 1960, 28,620 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1947 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ruskin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaTropicana Field
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaRaymond James Stadium
23 mi BeachAnna Maria Island
16 mi Stadium & arenaBenchmark International Arena
23 mi Theme parkBusch Gardens Tampa4.0M visitors a year
13 mi MuseumSalvador Dalí MuseumTropicana Field: EaglesFanInTampa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raymond James Stadium: NASA, Public domain · Anna Maria Island: Bfpage at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · Benchmark International Arena: Miosotis Jade, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Busch Gardens Tampa: Wolle8ball, CC BY 3.0 · Salvador Dalí Museum: Taty2007, CC BY 3.0
Ruskin is unincorporated, so Hillsborough County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Ruskin.
Ruskin has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak, but it has commutes longer than most of Florida.
The average commute for its 15,254 working residents takes 35.6 minutes, against 28 across Florida. Jobs based here grew from 2,583 in 2013 to 6,067.
Commuting out is the norm in Ruskin: 6% of working residents work locally. Employers in Ruskin added 3,484 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 6,067. 18% of Ruskin workers work from home. The median commute is under 19 miles.
| Ruskin | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Public schools: the Hillsborough school district. The largest public high school is Lennard High School, with 2,553 students. Two of the 5 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruskin Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 838 | D |
| Lennard High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,553 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
The Parrish weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 85 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 51.5°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.9°.
The typical July afternoon high in Ruskin is 91°F. It almost never snows.
| Ruskin | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 52°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Trails total 5.4 miles in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Little Manatee River Lower Track, at 725 acres. Parks and preserves in Ruskin: 3, covering 1,108 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Camp Bayou Nature Preserve | 3.7 mi | 359 |
| 2. Little Manatee River Lower Track | — | 725 |
| 3. Beaudette Park | — | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical value, about $310K, is 17% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical home value in Ruskin is about $310,000, down 3% in a year, 17% below the Florida typical home. Homes sold in Ruskin spent a median 78 days on the market. For Ruskin, the midpoint rent is $1,419 a month.
| Ruskin | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,419 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 59% | 59% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
A third of Ruskin’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by inland flooding at 24%. On expected storm and flood damage, Ruskin sits above nearly three fifths of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 562 claims in the town since 1982.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among adults in Ruskin, 17% have been diagnosed with depression. Against the Florida average, Ruskin comes out ahead on 6 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 11. 22% of adults in Ruskin worry about having enough food; 75% had a checkup this year.
| Ruskin | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Ruskin | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.2% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.6% | 7.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.5% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ruskin
About 6 of every 100 Ruskin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Where Ruskin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Ruskin on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Ruskin is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ruskin had a population of 28,620. The area was part of the chiefdom of the Uzita at the time of the Hernando de Soto expedition in 1539. The community was founded August 7, 1908, on the shores of the Little Manatee River. It was developed by Dr. George McAnelly Miller, an attorney and professor at Ruskin College in Trenton, Missouri, and Addie Dickman Miller. It is named after the essayist and social critic John Ruskin. Miller established the short-lived Ruskin College. It was one of the Ruskin Colleges.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ruskin.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruskin | #510 | D | D | — | C+ | B− |
| Sun City Center | #489 | C− | D | — | C+ | B |
| Apollo Beach | #261 | C+ | D− | — | C+ | A |
Ruskin, Sun City Center and Apollo Beach report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ruskin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ruskin grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #510 of 634 in Florida. It grades B− for health and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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