BayCare’s Pinellas impact reaches $5.1 billion

BayCare Health System generates an estimated $5.1 billion in economic activity each year in Pinellas County, cementing the county as the center of the health system’s regional economic footprint.

The new estimate represents an increase of about 16% from $4.4 billion in BayCare’s previous economic study, which was based on 2022 operations.

The latest BayCare economic impact report, released Sept. 9, uses 2025 data and was prepared by Washington Economics Group, a Coral Gables economic consulting firm.

The study estimates that BayCare’s operations support 26,510 jobs in Pinellas. That figure includes people employed directly by BayCare and jobs generated indirectly through its purchasing and the spending of employees and businesses connected to the health system.

That distinction is important. Economic impact is broader than BayCare’s revenue or payroll. The analysis uses an economic model to estimate how money associated with BayCare moves through other businesses and households.

The comparison with BayCare’s previous study also reveals an unusual shift. The 2022-based analysis estimated that BayCare supported 28,486 Pinellas jobs. The new estimate is 26,510, a decline of about 7%, even as estimated economic activity increased 16%.

In other words, more economic activity is now associated with fewer supported jobs. Changes in wages, productivity, health care spending and the mix of services can all affect that relationship. The reports do not provide enough Pinellas-specific detail to attribute the change to a single cause.

BayCare’s Pinellas economic footprint

Economic impact increased between studies while estimated jobs supported declined.

Pinellas also contains five BayCare hospitals. Together, their individual economic impacts total about $4.2 billion, based on the new estimates.

Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater is the largest, generating an estimated $1.8 billion in annual economic activity and supporting 9,243 jobs. Its estimated impact was about $1.58 billion in the previous study.

In St. Petersburg, St. Anthony’s Hospital now generates an estimated $1.1 billion and supports 5,485 jobs. Its previous estimated impact was $965 million.

Mease Countryside Hospital accounts for another $976 million and 5,054 jobs. Mease Dunedin Hospital contributes an estimated $268 million and 1,390 jobs, while BayCare Alliant Hospital accounts for $38 million and 197 jobs.

The hospital figures also show why the countywide total is larger than the sum of those five facilities. BayCare’s Pinellas presence extends beyond hospitals into physician practices, laboratories, imaging, urgent care, behavioral health, home care and other services.

The shift toward those services is increasingly significant across the health system. BayCare Medical Group’s estimated economic impact has risen from $757 million in the previous study to $1.9 billion. Hospital operations remain the largest part of BayCare, but physician and outpatient operations are accounting for a larger share of its activity.

BayCare itself has also grown. Its operating revenue increased from $5.5 billion in 2023 to $6.97 billion in 2025. The nonprofit health system reported nearly 34,000 employees last year.

Pinellas accounts for about 39% of BayCare’s newly estimated $13 billion statewide economic impact. Hillsborough County ranks second at $4.1 billion.

That concentration gives Pinellas an unusual exposure to changes in health care. BayCare’s spending, hiring and investment reach well beyond its hospitals, while changes in how medical care is delivered can affect thousands of jobs throughout the county.