Wildwood composite
67.0 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Wildwood vs Winston
Wildwood-The Villages, FL and Winston-Salem, NC side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 67.0
- Wildwood Life Score
- A+
- Wildwood grade
- 59.6
- Winston Life Score
- A-
- Winston grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Wildwood scores higher on 3 (cost of living, safety, schools) and Winston on 4 (wages, rent, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Wildwood Winston ◗
cost of living
98
62
wages
47
48
rent
48
97
safety
91
45
schools
88
59
childcare
46
57
environment
39
47
Wildwood and Winston differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Wildwood has a cost-of-living index of 85.4 vs Winston's 92.0 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $63,776 in Wildwood and $63,918 in Winston. A 2-bedroom averages $1,328/mo vs $960/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Wildwood vs Winston Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Wildwood and Winston works out to $4,416 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Wildwood carries the same local purchasing power as $107,748 in Winston - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 210.3 per 100,000 residents in FL vs 364.6 in NC, with property-crime rates of 1030.0 and 1929.5 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: FL lists 4,029 public schools at a 17.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while NC lists 2,703 schools at 16.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $10,505/yr in the Wildwood area versus $9,487/yr in Winston - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Wildwood and Winston are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Winston composite
59.6 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
8 pts
Winston cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
46 pts
Wildwood safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Wildwood
Wildwood composite (Grade A+)
Winston
Winston composite (Grade A-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Wildwood | Winston |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 85.4 | 92.0 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.6 |
| Services | 89.0 | 88.4 |
| Rents | 51.7 | 71.4 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Winston gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Wildwood?
$
Equivalent in Winston:
$107,748
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Wildwood: 85.4, Winston: 92.0, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Wildwood | Winston |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,076/mo | $816/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,139/mo | $876/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,328/mo | $960/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,655/mo | $1,316/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,937/mo | $1,591/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Wildwood | Winston |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $63,776 | $63,918 |
| Total Employment | 34,870 | 259,100 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Wildwood (FL) | Winston (NC) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 210.3 | 364.6 |
| Property Crime | 1030.0 | 1929.5 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | FL | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 4,029 | 2,703 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.8:1 | 16.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 18.0% | 7.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | FL | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $10,505/yr | $9,487/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $8,611/yr | $7,856/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,983/yr | $6,548/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | FL | NC |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 864 | 924 |
| Water Systems | 1,513 | 1,958 |
| Superfund Sites | 81 | 42 |
| Water Violations | 2,736 | 3,120 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Wildwood | Winston |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 40.7 | 52.0 |
| Good Air Days | 77.5% | 41.6% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 0 days |
Wildwood air quality shown at state level. Winston has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | FL | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 9/100 | 9/100 |
| Total Violations | 184,355 | 524,053 |
| Health-Based Violations | 24,266 | 38,492 |
| Systems with Violations | 93.2% | 92.9% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | FL | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 92/100 | 91/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 8.2% | 9.2% |
| HPSA Designations | 637 | 615 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | FL | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 29/100 | 41/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 75.7 | 66.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 72.9 | 62.6 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wildwood more expensive than Winston? ▼
Wildwood has a cost of living index of 85.4 compared to Winston's 92.0 (national average = 100). Winston is 6.6 points above Wildwood on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Wildwood and Winston? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,328/mo in Wildwood vs $960/mo in Winston, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,076/mo to $816/mo.
How do salaries compare between Wildwood and Winston? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $63,776 in Wildwood and $63,918 in Winston, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Wildwood has the same purchasing power as $107,748 in Winston.
Is Wildwood or Winston safer? ▼
At the state level, FL has a violent crime rate of 210.3 per 100,000 residents compared to NC's 364.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1030.0 vs 1929.5 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Wildwood and Winston? ▼
FL has 4,029 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.8:1, while NC has 2,703 schools at 16.1:1. Charter schools make up 18.0% of FL schools vs 7.6% in NC. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare