Elevation of Clearwater
31ft
above sea level · 9 m
Clearwater is a city in Florida with 114,364 people, the 23rd most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 32nd lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 27.97° N · 82.80° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 27° 57′ 57″ N · 82° 48′ 0″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 17R · 322,937 E · 3,094,724 N
- Zone 17 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 114,364 people
- 26.2 sq mi of land · 4,367 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from March 2019: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Clearwater had 114,364 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 2.5% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 117,343. Its 26.2 sq mi of land work out to 4,367 people/sq mi; the state average is 437 people/sq mi.
It’s the 23rd most populous of the 956 places the Census counts in Florida (cities, towns and CDPs), after Jacksonville (1,017,689), and holds 0.5% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Pinellas County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 2.0 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Clearwater sits at 31 ft (9 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Clearwater is 831 ft below it.
The state capital, Tallahassee, is 193 mi away in a straight line and 173 ft higher than Clearwater.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is St. Petersburg, 15 mi away in a straight line and 11 ft higher.
Of the 26 cities in Florida with a page, Clearwater is the 7th highest: the highest is Tallahassee (204 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
The highest point in Florida is Britton Hill, at 345 ft according to the USGS: 314 ft above Clearwater, 296 mi away in a straight line.
- 218 Clearwater 31 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Clearwater.
What is the elevation of Clearwater?
Clearwater is 31 feet (9 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Clearwater?
Latitude 27.96585 and longitude -82.80010, in decimal degrees (27° 57′ 57″ N · 82° 48′ 0″ W). In UTM, zone 17: 322,937 E and 3,094,724 N, on NAD83.
How does Clearwater rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 32nd lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Clearwater in?
Pinellas County, Florida.
Which is higher, Clearwater or Tallahassee?
Tallahassee. Clearwater sits at 31 ft and Tallahassee at 204 ft: a difference of 173 ft, 193 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know