What is the cost of living in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin?

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 97.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 94.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,785/month.

What is the median salary in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin?

The median salary in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin is $66,615 annually (mean: $70,570). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin?

The violent crime rate in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area is 210 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1030 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin?

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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin?

Infant center-based childcare in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area averages $10,505 per year. Preschool averages $7,983/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin a good place to relocate?

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin has a Life Score of 51.4/100 (D), 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 middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin ranks #211 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

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL

BEA RPP 97.0 sits mid-pack (#259 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

97.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,785
2BR rent / mo: $66,615
Median salary: 50.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin ranks #211 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (50.6/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and safety.

#211
of 387 US metros · Near median: 23,372,215
metro-area population: 210
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,029
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (16/100). 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), Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin ranks #211 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 97.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,785/mo, median salary $66,615; LiveAbility Score 50.6/100, strongest in air quality and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 97.0 sits mid-pack (#259 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 97.0 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,785/mo.

LiveAbility 50.6/100 keeps Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin in the middle third (#211 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area is 119,420.

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 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)

51 Top 55% higher than 45% 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

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin MSA; housing RPP 94.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,785/mo.

Studio

$1,362

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,581

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,785

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,448

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,979

/month

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin wages and employment

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin posts 119,420 total employment with median salary $66,615 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$66,615

Mean Salary

$70,570

Total Employment

119,420

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$33,920
Waiters and Waitresses	$37,370
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,220
Cashiers	$31,000
General and Operations Managers	$100,070

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,505

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,611

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,983

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin's composite Life Score is 51.4/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

33/100

Weak

Wages

59/100

Above average

Rent

16/100

Bottom decile

Crime

88/100

Elite

Schools

81/100

Elite

Childcare

52/100

Average

Environment

41/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin ranks #211 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 50.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (90/100)

Air quality

90
Safety

88
Climate

71
Job market

59
Low hazard

59
Cost of living

33
Schools

19
Housing

16

What this shows Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin's strongest dimensions are air quality and safety; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 16/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin to

Dover Dubuque Duluth Durham-Chapel Hill Eagle Pass Eau Claire

Metros near Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 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

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin?

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin runs a $66,615 median salary at a 97.0 cost index, ranking #211 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
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.