Metro Life Score
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 36th percentile of the national corpus.
- 46.2
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #247
- of 387 metros
- 36%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Cape Coral-Fort Myers is below-median composite Life Score — #247 of 387 (46.2/100, grade C+, 36th percentile). Carried by safety at 96/100; held back most by rent at 9/100.
- 36th
- composite percentile
- #247
- of 387 peers
- 14th
- cost dimension percentile
- 53rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature cost
Cape Coral-Fort Myers: cost pressure is the outlier
Cape Coral-Fort Myers is a MID-band metro where cost sits only at the 14th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 53rd and composite #247. Rent (9/100) is the main drag; Safety (96/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL ranks #247 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #333 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 102.3 (rent-RPP 125.1). BLS median salary $64,691, 293,750 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Waiters and Waitresses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,961/mo (studio $1,629).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Cape Coral-Fort Myers sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 36th percentile higher than 36% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
Dimension detail
How Cape Coral-Fort Myers scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Cape Coral-Fort Myers With...
Ranking Context
Cape Coral-Fort Myers outranks 36% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #244 | Watertown-Fort Drum, NY | 46.4 | C+ |
| #245 | Savannah, GA | 46.4 | C+ |
| #246 | Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL | 46.5 | C+ |
| #247 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 46.2 | C+ |
| #248 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #249 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #250 | Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 46.2 | C+ |
FL Metro Scores
Read with Cape Coral-Fort Myers
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Cape Coral-Fort Myers (MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 46.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Fresno, CA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 14/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 14/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.