What is the cost of living in Cape Coral-Fort Myers?

Cape Coral-Fort Myers has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 102.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 125.1, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,961/month.

What is the median salary in Cape Coral-Fort Myers?

The median salary in Cape Coral-Fort Myers is $64,691 annually (mean: $68,903). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Waiters and Waitresses.

How safe is Cape Coral-Fort Myers?

The violent crime rate in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area is 210 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1030 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Cape Coral-Fort Myers?

The state of FL has 4,029 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 17.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Cape Coral-Fort Myers?

Infant center-based childcare in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area averages $10,505 per year. Preschool averages $7,983/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Cape Coral-Fort Myers a good place to relocate?

Cape Coral-Fort Myers has a Life Score of 42.3/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Cape Coral-Fort Myers sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Cape Coral-Fort Myers ranks #303 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

BEA RPP 102.3 ranks #333 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

102.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,961
2BR rent / mo: $64,691
Median salary: 42.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Cape Coral-Fort Myers ranks #303 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (42.8/100), with its strongest marks in safety and air quality.

#303
of 387 US metros · Below median: 23,372,215
metro-area population: 210
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,029
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (9/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Cape Coral-Fort Myers ranks #303 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 102.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,961/mo, median salary $64,691; LiveAbility Score 42.8/100, strongest in safety and air quality.

Signature: BEA RPP 102.3 ranks #333 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 102.3 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,961/mo.

LiveAbility 42.8/100 puts Cape Coral-Fort Myers in the bottom third (#303 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area is 293,750.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

43 Top 78% higher than 22% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Cape Coral-Fort Myers housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA; housing RPP 125.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,961/mo.

Studio

$1,629

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,638

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,961

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,560

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,836

/month

Cape Coral-Fort Myers wages and employment

Cape Coral-Fort Myers posts 293,750 total employment with median salary $64,691 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$64,691

Mean Salary

$68,903

Total Employment

293,750

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$34,650
Registered Nurses	$82,860
Waiters and Waitresses	$36,660
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,360
General and Operations Managers	$94,730

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area from NCES.

Schools

4,029

Enrollment

2,838,009

Student:Teacher

17.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,505

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,611

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,983

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Cape Coral-Fort Myers's composite Life Score is 42.3/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

14/100

Bottom decile

Wages

38/100

Below average

Rent

9/100

Bottom decile

Crime

88/100

Elite

Schools

80/100

Elite

Childcare

52/100

Average

Environment

41/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Cape Coral-Fort Myers ranks #303 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 42.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (88/100)

Safety

88
Air quality

87
Climate

71
Low hazard

59
Job market

38
Schools

20
Cost of living

14
Housing

9

What this shows Cape Coral-Fort Myers's strongest dimensions are safety and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 9/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Cape Coral-Fort Myers to

Cedar Rapids Chambersburg Champaign-Urbana Charleston-North Charleston Charleston Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia

Metros near Cape Coral-Fort Myers on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Cape Coral-Fort Myers on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Cape Coral-Fort Myers cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Cape Coral-Fort Myers wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Cape Coral-Fort Myers?

Cape Coral-Fort Myers runs a $64,691 median salary at a 102.3 cost index, ranking #303 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Cape Coral-Fort Myers's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Cape Coral-Fort Myers head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Cape Coral-Fort Myers
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.