Metro Life Score
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 63rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 52.7
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #143
- of 387 metros
- 63%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin is above-median composite Life Score — #143 of 387 (52.7/100, grade B, 63rd percentile). Carried by safety at 96/100; held back most by rent at 16/100.
- 63rd
- composite percentile
- #143
- of 387 peers
- 33rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 62nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature cost
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin: cost pressure is the outlier
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin is a MID-band metro where cost sits only at the 33rd percentile (DEAR) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 62nd and composite #143. Rent (16/100) is the main drag; Safety (96/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL ranks #143 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #259 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 97.0 (rent-RPP 94.9). BLS median salary $66,615, 119,420 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,785/mo (studio $1,362).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
53 63rd percentile higher than 63% 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
How the 52.7 is built
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin With...
Ranking Context
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin outranks 63% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #140 | Springfield, OH | 52.9 | B |
| #141 | Madison, WI | 52.9 | B |
| #142 | Eau Claire, WI | 52.9 | B |
| #143 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | 52.7 | B |
| #144 | Appleton, WI | 52.6 | B |
| #145 | Joplin, MO-KS | 52.6 | B |
| #146 | Fayetteville, NC | 52.5 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL is top 37% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 33% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
FL Metro Scores
Read with Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin (MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Appleton, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 52.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID.
Joplin, MO-KS
ABS(composite) peer at 52.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID.
Eau Claire, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 52.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID.
Madison, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 52.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID.
Rochester, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 33/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 33/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin's middle-third Life Score
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin scores 52.7/100 overall, but Safety (95.9) and Rent (15.5) sit 80.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.