What is the cost of living in Port St. Lucie?

Port St. Lucie has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 100.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 113.6, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,757/month.

What is the median salary in Port St. Lucie?

The median salary in Port St. Lucie is $62,013 annually (mean: $66,184). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Port St. Lucie?

The violent crime rate in the Port St. Lucie area is 210 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1030 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Port St. Lucie?

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 Port St. Lucie?

Infant center-based childcare in the Port St. Lucie area averages $10,505 per year. Preschool averages $7,983/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Port St. Lucie a good place to relocate?

Port St. Lucie has a Life Score of 45.1/100 (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 Port St. Lucie sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Port St. Lucie ranks #306 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

Port St. Lucie, FL

LiveAbility 42.5/100 places Port St. Lucie #306 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

100.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,757
2BR rent / mo: $62,013
Median salary: 42.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Port St. Lucie ranks #306 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (42.5/100), with its strongest marks in safety and climate.

#306
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: schools (14/100). 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), Port St. Lucie ranks #306 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 100.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,757/mo, median salary $62,013; LiveAbility Score 42.5/100, strongest in safety and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 42.5/100 places Port St. Lucie #306 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 100.2 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,757/mo.

LiveAbility 42.5/100 puts Port St. Lucie in the bottom third (#306 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Port St. Lucie area is 160,790.

Port St. Lucie 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 79% higher than 21% 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

Port St. Lucie housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Port St. Lucie MSA; housing RPP 113.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,757/mo.

Studio

$1,455

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,467

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,757

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,421

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,579

/month

Port St. Lucie wages and employment

Port St. Lucie posts 160,790 total employment with median salary $62,013 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$62,013

Mean Salary

$66,184

Total Employment

160,790

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$34,020
Registered Nurses	$82,090
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,130
Waiters and Waitresses	$36,250
Cashiers	$30,540

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Port St. Lucie 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 Port St. Lucie area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,505

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,611

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,983

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Port St. Lucie's composite Life Score is 45.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

22/100

Weak

Wages

39/100

Below average

Rent

17/100

Bottom decile

Crime

84/100

Elite

Schools

86/100

Elite

Childcare

48/100

Average

Environment

45/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Port St. Lucie ranks #306 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 42.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (84/100)

Safety

84
Climate

73
Air quality

70
Low hazard

55
Job market

39
Cost of living

22
Housing

17
Schools

14

What this shows Port St. Lucie's strongest dimensions are safety and climate; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 14/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Port St. Lucie to

Omaha Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Oshkosh-Neenah Owensboro Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Paducah

Metros near Port St. Lucie on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Port St. Lucie 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

Port St. Lucie cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Port St. Lucie 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 Port St. Lucie?

Port St. Lucie runs a $62,013 median salary at a 100.2 cost index, ranking #306 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Port St. Lucie's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Port St. Lucie head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Port St. Lucie
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.