Treasure Island vs. St. Pete Beach, to Actually Live In
I thought St. Pete Beach was the goal. We bought on Treasure Island because the lot was cheaper. What is different about living on each one, from someone who does.
About the Author
Carly Majorana
Waterfront and luxury real estate specialist at NextHome Gulf Coast in St. Petersburg, Florida. CLHMS Guild Member, specializing in the technical side of waterfront: seawalls, boat lifts, bridge clearance, and flood zones. Serving buyers and sellers in St. Pete Beach, Tierra Verde, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Bayway Isles, and Pinellas Point.
I always thought St. Pete Beach was the goal.
We bought on Treasure Island because the lot was cheaper. That's the whole story. Nobody had a vision.
Now that I live here, I wouldn't pick St. Pete Beach even if it cost the same. I sell houses on both, so I don't have a reason to push you toward one. This is what's different about living on each.
The short version
Treasure Island costs less for the same kind of house, feels like a small town and is a longer drive to the highway. St. Pete Beach has more going on, gets you to I-275 faster and costs more. A lot of its canal streets are also farther from the sand than people expect.
| Treasure Island | St. Pete Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| People who live there | 6,584 | 8,879 |
| Getting to I-275 | The causeway, then Central Avenue across St. Pete | The Pinellas Bayway, about 4 miles, small toll |
| Walking to the beach from a canal house | A few blocks from most of the island | Longer than you'd think from the bay side |
| Getting to dinner | Walk or a quick golf cart ride from most of the island | Same. Walk or a quick golf cart ride from most of it |
| What houses sold for this summer | $1,166,000 median, June to August, 25 sales | $1,250,000 median, August, 17 sales |
Population is the 2020 census. Sale prices are single-family closed sales from Stellar MLS, out of my August market report.
Why is Treasure Island cheaper than St. Pete Beach?
Mostly the drive.
St. Pete Beach has the Pinellas Bayway. You pay a small toll and about four miles later you're on I-275. From Treasure Island you take the causeway to Central Avenue and drive across St. Pete, one traffic light at a time. If you work in Tampa or fly a lot, you'll feel it.
The price already knows this. It's why our lot cost less than the same lot would have a few miles south. Treasure Island is a little less desirable on paper, and you get paid for that when you buy.
The medians won't show you the gap, by the way. Houses that sold on Treasure Island this summer had a median of $1,166,000. St. Pete Beach was $1,250,000 in August. Those are small piles of very different houses. Put the same house on the same kind of water on both islands and Treasure Island is the cheaper one.
What is it like to live on Treasure Island?
Small. I didn't get how small until we moved here. About 6,500 people live on the island full time and you see the same ones everywhere.
It's a tight group because of that. There's always something going on, and most of it is on the beach and free. Sanding Ovations is November 19 to 22 this year. The kite festival is in January. There's a trick-or-treat trail at the community center, fireworks on the Fourth and a lighted boat parade in December. I put the fall dates here.
It's a good place to have a kid. I didn't expect that either.
The annoying part is the city itself. Treasure Island city politics are a lot of drama for a town this size. It only touches you if you go to commission meetings. Don't go to commission meetings.
It's also still rebuilding. After Helene the city sent out 969 substantial damage letters. So you'll see a new elevated house next to an empty lot next to an original ground-level one. Some people think that looks unfinished. I think it's where the opportunity is. Both are true.
What is it like to live on St. Pete Beach?
More of a town. Corey Avenue has shops and a Sunday market. Pass-a-Grille has 8th Avenue. The Don CeSar is the big pink thing everyone gives directions by. There are more restaurants and more people in general.
And the Bayway. Getting off the island and onto the interstate is easy, and that's a real reason it costs more.
I only have one complaint about St. Pete Beach. It's the next section.
Can you walk to the beach from a waterfront house?
Not always. This surprises people on St. Pete Beach more than anywhere.
The canal neighborhoods there are on the bay side. Belle Vista, Brightwater, Boca Ciega Isle. The sand is on the other side of Gulf Boulevard and a row of hotels and condos. From some streets it's a ten-minute walk. From others it's a walk nobody takes twice in August. Vina del Mar is its own island with one bridge, so the beach is a bike or a golf cart.
You can live on the water on St. Pete Beach and still drive to the beach. Plenty of people do.
Treasure Island is skinnier. From most of it, the beach is a few blocks. The longest trips are from the back of Isle of Capri and Paradise Island, and those are still a bike ride.
What I'd check on any address, on either island:
- Walk it. Driveway to actual sand, in the afternoon. Not the listing's "minutes to the beach."
- Find the nearest public beach access. A hotel between you and the Gulf is not an access.
- Look at where you cross Gulf Boulevard. A light or a crosswalk matters when you're carrying chairs.
- Ask about the golf cart. Gulf Boulevard is a state road, so ask the city where carts are allowed to cross.
- Know where you'd park if you give up and drive.
Pass-a-Grille vs. the rest of St. Pete Beach
Pass-a-Grille is the south tip of St. Pete Beach. About a mile long, historic, the Gulf on one side and the channel on the other. It's the one part of St. Pete Beach where every house is a short walk to the sand.
It's also the most expensive part of either island. New elevated houses there start around $3 million. One restored 1935 house sold for $8 million.
It's right for you if you want that street and you're fine with one road in, beach traffic and parking as a competitive sport. It's wrong for you if you mostly want a newer house near the beach and Pass-a-Grille was just the name you knew.
I've had buyers who were sure they wanted Pass-a-Grille. Then they saw the prices. Then they saw what close to $2 million less gets you in Sunset Beach, at the south end of Treasure Island. Now they're looking in Sunset Beach.
It's the same setup. Intracoastal on one side, Gulf on the other, a couple of blocks in between. It's not as built up or as nice yet. But the old houses are getting torn down and rebuilt one at a time, and new elevated ones have been selling for $1.8 to $2.5 million. Give it ten years. I think it's the next Pass-a-Grille. I wrote about the empty lots there if you want the math.
What about the boat?
Both islands work. It depends on the street.
Treasure Island has a pass to the Gulf at each end. The bay side of Pass-a-Grille has no bridge between the dock and the Gulf. Everything else comes down to which bridge is on your way out and how much water is in the canal, and I've written about that enough for one lifetime. Start with who actually has sailboat water and can my boat fit here.
So which one?
St. Pete Beach if you drive to Tampa a lot, you want more restaurants to pick from, or you want Pass-a-Grille and have the budget for it.
Treasure Island if you want more house for the money and a town small enough that you run into everyone you know. And you don't mind Central Avenue.
I thought I was settling. I wasn't.
If you're stuck between two addresses, text me both. I'll tell you which one I'd walk to the beach from.
Frequently asked questions
Is Treasure Island or St. Pete Beach better to live in?
It depends on what you do all day. St. Pete Beach has more restaurants, a small downtown on Corey Avenue and a faster drive to I-275. Treasure Island is smaller and tighter-knit, costs less for the same kind of house and has more free events on the beach than a town of 6,500 people should. I live on Treasure Island and wouldn't switch.
Is Treasure Island cheaper than St. Pete Beach?
For the same house on the same kind of water, yes. The main reason is the drive. St. Pete Beach connects to I-275 by the Pinellas Bayway in about four miles. Treasure Island connects by Central Avenue across St. Petersburg. Town-wide medians were close in summer 2026, $1,166,000 on Treasure Island and $1,250,000 on St. Pete Beach, because different kinds of houses sold on each.
Can you walk to the beach from waterfront homes in St. Pete Beach?
From some of them. Most St. Pete Beach canal homes are on the bay side of the island, across Gulf Boulevard and a row of hotels and condos from the sand. Some streets are a ten-minute walk and others are a bike or golf cart ride. Vina del Mar is a separate island with one bridge. Walk the route before you buy.
What is the difference between Pass-a-Grille and St. Pete Beach?
Pass-a-Grille is the historic district at the south tip of St. Pete Beach. It's about a mile long with the Gulf on one side and the Pass-a-Grille Channel on the other, so every house is close to the beach. It costs more than the rest of the island. New elevated homes start around $3 million.
Is Sunset Beach on Treasure Island a good alternative to Pass-a-Grille?
For a lot of buyers, yes. Sunset Beach is the south end of Treasure Island and has the same layout as Pass-a-Grille, with the Intracoastal on one side and the Gulf a couple of blocks away. It isn't as built up yet. New elevated homes there have been selling for about $1.8 to $2.5 million, and I've had buyers switch from Pass-a-Grille to Sunset Beach after seeing what close to $2 million less buys.
Which is closer to I-275 and Tampa, Treasure Island or St. Pete Beach?
St. Pete Beach. The Pinellas Bayway runs from the island to I-275 at Exit 17 in about four miles, with a small toll. From Treasure Island you cross the Treasure Island Causeway and take Central Avenue through St. Petersburg to reach the interstate.
