PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

39.6
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#329
of 387 metros
15%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Cape Coral ranks #329 of 387 US metros, ahead of 15% - carried by its safety (88/100) and held back most by rent (9/100).

88
strongest: Safety
80
then: Schools
9
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Cape Coral sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

40 15th percentile higher than 15% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Cape Coral Life Score

Cape Coral's composite score of 39.6 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #329 of 387, ahead of 15% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (88/100) and Schools (80/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (9/100) and Environment (14/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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). Ranks #326-#332 below.

Dimension detail

How Cape Coral scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 14/100 (20%)
Wages 38/100 (20%)
Rent 9/100 (15%)
Safety 88/100 (15%)
Schools 80/100 (10%)
Childcare 52/100 (10%)
Environment 14/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

102.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,691
Avg Median Salary
$1,961
2BR Fair Market Rent
210
Violent Crime/100K (FL)
17.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,505
Infant Childcare/yr (FL)
81
Superfund Sites (FL)
293,750
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Cape Coral With...

Cape Coral vs Wildwood Compare → Cape Coral vs Jacksonville Compare → Cape Coral vs Tallahassee Compare → Cape Coral vs Waterloo Compare → Cape Coral vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Cape Coral outranks 15% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#326 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 39.7 C-
#327 Manchester-Nashua, NH 39.8 C-
#328 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 39.8 C-
#329 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 39.6 C-
#330 Clarksville, TN-KY 39.6 C-
#331 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 39.6 C-
#332 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 39.6 C-

FL Metro Scores

Wildwood-The Villages, FL A+ 71.6 Jacksonville, FL B+ 59.0 Tallahassee, FL B 54.9 Sebring, FL B 54.8 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL B 52.8 Homosassa Springs, FL B- 51.0

Using Cape Coral's Life Score

Cape Coral is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (88/100) and its weakest is rent (9/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Cape Coral head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Cape Coral lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Cape Coral's biggest strengths? ▼
Cape Coral's strongest dimensions are Safety (88/100), Schools (80/100), Childcare (52/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Cape Coral's weakest areas? ▼
Cape Coral's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (9/100), Environment (14/100), Cost of Living (14/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Cape Coral compared to the national average? ▼
Cape Coral's Regional Price Parity is 102.3 (2.3% more than national); rent RPP 125.1.
What is the average salary in Cape Coral? ▼
Cape Coral median salary: $64,691, 293,750 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Waiters and Waitresses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Cape Coral's 39.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.