— Homes in the attendance zone
Hillsborough High School
Grades 9–12 · Hillsborough County Public Schools · Tampa, FL
Rating
3/10
GreatSchools
Grades
9–12
Enrollment
1,700
Student : Teacher
23:1
Founded
1882
Homes in the Hillsborough High School zone
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“Hillsborough High School is Tampa's oldest public high school — established 1882, housed since 1928 in a landmark Gothic Revival building in Seminole Heights — running one of Hillsborough County's five IB Diploma programmes alongside AP and JROTC.”
Hillsborough High sits inside its original 1928 Gothic Revival building on North Central Avenue, hard on the edge of Seminole Heights — the neighborhood that parents buying in that corridor feed into by default. The IB programme draws motivated students district-wide, giving the school a two-track character: a selective academic cohort alongside a broad zoned population. The campus anchors the north end of one of Tampa's most in-demand bungalow markets, where craftsman homes on tree-lined streets have been pulling buyers for a decade.
Academic programs
- International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme — one of 5 HCPS high schools
- Advanced Placement (AP) — core course offerings
- JROTC — Army program
- Gifted programming
- Dual enrollment (HCPS standard)
How to enroll
Zoned students enroll automatically via HCPS based on address. The IB programme is open to students district-wide by application — check hillsboroughschools.org for current application windows, deadlines, and IB information sessions. IB acceptance overrides zoning for out-of-boundary families.
What makes it stand out
The school's identity rests on two things: its age and its IB programme. Hillsborough is the oldest public high school in the county, with traditions going back to 1882 — first high school newspaper in Florida (1889), first yearbook (1911), nine football state championships. The IB Diploma Programme is the academic differentiator for families who want a rigorous university-prep track without private school tuition.
Extracurriculars
- Football (historic rivalry with Plant High since 1928)
- Full athletic program (basketball, baseball, soccer, track, swimming)
- JROTC — Army battalion
- Band, chorus, theatre
- Academic clubs and IB extracurricular requirements
- The Crimson and White student newspaper (oldest in Florida, since 1889)
Frequently asked about Hillsborough High School
What neighborhoods are zoned for Hillsborough High School?
The attendance zone covers north-central Tampa neighborhoods including Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, V.M. Ybor City, and portions of east Tampa roughly within ZIP codes 33603, 33604, and 33605. For address-specific boundary confirmation, use the HCPS boundary lookup at hillsboroughschools.org — zone lines shift and the only definitive check is address-level.
How do I apply to the IB programme at Hillsborough High?
The IB Diploma Programme at Hillsborough is open to any HCPS student by application — you do not have to live in the zone. Applications typically open in late fall for the following school year. Check hillsboroughschools.org or contact the school directly for current windows and information nights. IB acceptance supersedes zoning for out-of-boundary students.
What's the median home price zoned for Hillsborough High?
Homes in the Hillsborough High zone span a wide range. Seminole Heights — the bulk of the zone — runs a median around $440K–$470K (early 2026), with craftsman bungalows and renovated older stock. Tampa Heights, the southern edge, skews higher, with median sale prices near $675K–$755K driven by significant renovation activity and proximity to downtown. V.M. Ybor and east Tampa sections of the zone are typically lower. Budget $375K–$550K for a livable single-family home in the core of the zone.
Is Hillsborough High safe?
The school has standard HCPS security posture — School Resource Officer, controlled campus access, ID badge systems. The surrounding Seminole Heights neighborhood has seen substantial investment over the past decade and crime has declined measurably, though parts of the east Tampa sections of the zone have higher incident rates. Parents buying specifically for IB access should look at the Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights portions of the zone, which have the strongest neighborhood character.
How does Hillsborough High compare to Plant High School?
These are two very different schools. Plant High (South Tampa) is the zoned school for one of the most affluent ZIP codes in Tampa — it consistently ranks in the top tier of HCPS high schools by test scores and college readiness, with a GreatSchools rating around 8/10. Hillsborough High's strength is its IB programme and its historic identity, not zone-wide test-score metrics. The GreatSchools gap is real (3 vs 8), but families specifically applying to IB at Hillsborough are opting in for the programme, not the zone average. For buyers, it usually comes down to which zone the specific address falls in — both neighborhoods (South Tampa vs. Seminole Heights/Tampa Heights) have distinct price profiles and neighborhood characters.
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