Charleston → Cape Coral-Fort Myers
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Charleston to Cape Coral-Fort Myers is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.7 to 102.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $1,092/mo.
- +$2,830
- BLS median salary higher in Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- 242 to 210
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.1:1 to 17.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,531
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Cape Coral-Fort Myers
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + $3K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - 14% higher cost of living
- - $1092/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 88.7 to 102.3, so the same paycheck buys less in Cape Coral-Fort Myers (ratio 1.15). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $1,092/mo ($13,104/yr) from $869 in Charleston to $1,961 in Cape Coral-Fort Myers.
Charleston still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Cape Coral-Fort Myers sits #303 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Charleston is #3/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,830 higher ($61,861 → $64,691). Labor-market size: 94,760 tracked jobs at origin vs 293,750 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) vs Florida at 62 (C, #23/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 80
- Property tax
- 86
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 64
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 67
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 12
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Charleston to see what you'd need to earn in Cape Coral-Fort Myers to maintain the same purchasing power.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026