The Tampa Bay Area, often just called Tampa Bay after the body of water it surrounds, is the heart of West Central Florida. It is the second most populated metropolitan region in Florida.
     Bordered on the west by the Gulf of Mexico, it encompasses Tampa and surrounding communities in Hillsborough County; Pinellas County and its 24 municipalities including St. Petersburg and Clearwater plus the Beaches and Palm Harbor; and to the north, Pasco and Hernando Counties. (For a more comprehensive list of communities, go to www.jewishpresstampabay.com)
     The area has an active, year-round Jewish community of more than 45,000 Jews.
The Tampa Bay Jewish Community is served by:
       • 35 synagogues and other religious institutions
       • 2 Jewish federations
       • 2 Jewish community centers
       • 2 family service agencies
       • 1 Jewish day school
       • 7 Jewish-sponsored preschools
       • 1 Hebrew charter school
       • 5 Jewish college campus organizations
       • 1 regional Jewish, community-sponsored, kosher nursing home facility and adult day center.
       • 3 kosher assisted living facilities
       • 1 Jewish-sponsored senior residence
     The Tampa Bay area is also home to the Florida Holocaust Museum and offices of the Jewish National Fund and Israel Bonds.

     The independent bi-weekly Jewish Press of Pinellas County (est. 1986) and the Jewish Press of Tampa (est. 1988) are the only Jewish community newspapers in the Tampa Bay area.
     The Jewish Press Group of Tampa Bay, Inc., wholly owned and operated by local journalists Jim and Karen Dawkins, publishes both newspapers. While editorially independent, the Jewish Press of Pinellas County and the Jewish Press of Tampa are published in cooperation with the Jewish Federation of Pinellas and Pasco Counties, FL and the Tampa JCC & Federation, respectively.
     The papers are, by circulation, the largest in Florida exclusive of the South Florida Gold Coast.
     The Jewish Press of Pinellas County is mailed to an average 4,500 households. An additional 300-400 copies are delivered to synagogues, community centers, restaurants and businesses throughout Pinellas County. Across Tampa Bay, the average, by mail distribution of the Jewish Press of Tampa is about 6,700 households. About 200-300 additional copies are delivered to synagogues, businesses and community centers in Hillsborough County. It is estimated that the combined readership of the Jewish Press of Pinellas County and Jewish Press of Tampa is more than 40,000+ people.
     According to a national Jewish Media Network Demographics/Readership Survey (which included a sample from the Jewish Press), it is estimated that 70 percent of readers spend 1.5-3 hours reading their Jewish newspaper. The study found that Jewish newspaper readers’ average annual income is $120,100.