Growing city in Pasco County with new jobs planned
Thirty miles from Tampa, Zephyrhills has been steadily growing over the past few years, with a current population of almost 21,000 in 2024, up from 17,000 in 2020. “Essentially, we are a full-service municipality outside of fire and rescue services. Those are contracted through Pasco County,” says Kevin Weiss, the Public Information Officer for Zephyrhills. “People like our small community feeling and our city service as well. Our public works department is responsible for trash and recycling. If there is missed trash, it’s as easy as calling us to remediate the issues.”
Bauducco Foods recently purchased 72 acres by the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport and have invested $22 million according to Weiss. “This is big for our industrial corridor, it creates solid job opportunities and prospects.” Other companies looking to move to Zephyrhills include MiTek Inc. “It’s not as sexy as cookies, but a manufacturing-based company that makes steel trusses is basically moving operations to Zephyrhills and bringing 125 jobs to the city,” says Weiss. Right now, the biggest employers for the city are the school district, one of the best hospitals in the nation, AdventHealth Zephyrhills, and the Zephyrhills bottling company according to Weiss.
Newer communities around Zephyrhills have parks and miles of sidewalks.
The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center has a top notch gym and training facility.
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Residential Moratorium in Zephyrhills
The average housing value is almost $300,000, with a total of 67% ownership across the city. New construction homes tend to sit on the edge of the city, although the building of new homes is limited in Zephyrhills. “A residential moratorium was placed on anything larger than an acre. Big companies that were to come in and say, ‘Hey we want to build 600 homes,’ we would really not even look at that application,” says Weiss. “The moratorium was an opportunity to look at our water capacity and look at all the homes and buildings coming in and if we had the capacity to provide.” Older homes tend to be single-story, often ranch-style homes, while newer ones will have two-story’s.
Single story ranchers are a common home style around Zephyrhills.
Modern Zephyrhills homes come standard with garages and more.
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Pasco County School District
Pasco County School District covers Zephyrhills in addition to the other cities in Pasco County. Serving almost 85,000 students, there are 100 schools in the district. Pasco County School District is graded an overall B plus by Niche. First built in 1910, Zephyrhills High School serves the students of the city. The school earns a B-minus by Niche.
Zephyrhills High School was established in 1910 and earns a B- rating on Niche.com.
West Zephyrhills Elementary has more than 600 students with a 15 to 1 student-teacher ratio.
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Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center
Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center was founded in 2020 and named after a local tennis player who attended Zephyrhills High School. She passed away in a car accident in 2015, and the city opened the tennis center in her honor. “It’s a world-class tennis facility with a myriad of pickleball and volleyball courts,” says Weiss. “They’re building an indoor component next to the facility. It’s multi-purpose use and can have indoor soccer, tennis, banquets, stuff like that.” Construction is expected to begin soon. The center also provides scholarships to students. Hercules Park is expected to open in mid-February and will offer residents of the northern side of the city access to green space. “One of the kids asked my boss how much does the park cost and the answer was 7 or 8 million. The kid goes ‘Well sir that was money well-spent,’” Weiss says. The park is nature-themed and will include a splash pad and walking trails. “We don’t have a ton of parks on the north side, so that’ll be a nice spot for the residents.”
Future stars train, workout and receive cryotherapy at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center.
Residents of Zephyrhills enjoy tennis and pickleball at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center.
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Fifth Avenue options and west to Wesley Chapel
Most shopping and dining options for Zephyrhills lies along Gall Boulevard, which cross through the city north to south. “Fifth Avenue goes through the heart of the historic district. There are mom-and-pops, one-off restaurants,” says Weiss. “Downtown recently got an ice cream store that got family and kids excited. There’s a pizza and coffee shop coming soon.” The area has been developed throughout the years, but retains a historical aspect as well. “Tina and Joe’s Café operate out of a building that is on the National Register of Historic Places,” says Weiss. “It was owned by the original founder of Zephyrhills and it was renovated but maintained with historical integrity.” Wesley Chapel, a census-designated place about 15 minutes from the city, has shops, chain restaurants and malls.
Tina & Joe's Cafe offers sandwiches and other staple comforts in a historic home atmosphere.
The Zephyrhills' slogan, "Jump right in" takes influence from its' sky diving history.
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Skydive City at Zephyrhills Airport
Zephyrhills has annual events throughout the year. “We try to maintain our small-town, hometown feel,” says Weiss. “Every year we have a handful of downtown events and festivals like Founder’s Day and a Veteran’s Parade.” At the Zephyrhills Airport is Skydive City. “Skydive City has been drawing tourism to the greater Zephyrhills region and Pasco County as a region,” says Weiss. “They have professional teams come. When the weather gets warmer in March, April, May, it gets really popular. They even do their own events.” Skydive City has yearly events such as Flamingofest and a Turkey Meet.
Skydive City Zephyrhills is a world-renowned facility offering tandem and solo jumps, training and a bar.
Zephyrhills invites all to explore the city, its' natural surroundings and rich history.
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Bus system through Pasco County and general aviation airport
U.S. Route 301 bisects the community and is known as Gall Boulevard or Fort King Highway through the city. U.S. 301 begins further south of Zephyrhills in Sarasota before traveling north and ending in Delaware. Zephyrhills Municipal Airport is a general aviation facility that sits on the southern section of the city. It does not service passengers, but the Tampa International Airport is about 30 miles south and the Orlando International Airport is about 70 miles east. The city does have access to public transportation through Pasco County’s Go Pasco, a bus system that has three buses through Zephyrhills.
Decreased crime and hurricane preparations
Both property and violent crime decreased in Zephyrhills from 2022 to 2023.
With Zephyrhills being more inland, hurricanes are less likely. “It’s been an eye-opening experience, for a Cat-2 or Cat-3 to touch down in your community,” Weiss says. Pasco County will open school buildings as hurricane shelters and communicates to residents about updates for storms. “I heard it was like a 500-year flood, there were a couple damaged homes and buildings,” says Weiss. "Looking at following this storm event, we are aiming to improve our stormwater system to be at the point of dealing with what we dealt with this past year. That way rainwater can drain properly and won’t impact the roads, or the people who live in the community.”
Written By
Samantha Hacker
Photography Contributed By
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Video By
Rebecca Askin
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GreatSchools:
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On average, homes in Zephyrhills, FL sell after 61 days on the market compared to the national average of 49 days. The median sale price for homes in Zephyrhills, FL over the last 12 months is $339,990, up 3% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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