PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL

49.5
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#198
of 387 metros
49%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Crestview ranks #198 of 387 US metros, ahead of 49% - carried by its safety (88/100) and held back most by rent (16/100).

88
strongest: Safety
81
then: Schools
16
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Crestview sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

50 49th percentile higher than 49% 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%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Crestview Life Score

Crestview's composite score of 49.5 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #198 of 387, ahead of 49% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (88/100) and Schools (81/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (16/100) and Environment (22/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL). Ranks #195-#201 below.

Dimension detail

How Crestview scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 33/100 (20%)
Wages 59/100 (20%)
Rent 16/100 (15%)
Safety 88/100 (15%)
Schools 81/100 (10%)
Childcare 52/100 (10%)
Environment 22/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,615
Avg Median Salary
$1,785
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)
119,420
Total Employment

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

Compare Crestview With...

Crestview vs Wildwood Compare → Crestview vs Jacksonville Compare → Crestview vs Tallahassee Compare → Crestview vs Waterloo Compare → Crestview vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Crestview outranks 49% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#195 Walla Walla, WA 49.6 B-
#196 Springfield, MO 49.7 B-
#197 Akron, OH 49.7 B-
#198 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 49.5 B-
#199 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN 49.5 B-
#200 Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN 49.5 B-
#201 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 49.4 B-

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 Crestview's Life Score

Crestview 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 (16/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Crestview head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Crestview 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 Crestview's biggest strengths? ▼
Crestview's strongest dimensions are Safety (88/100), Schools (81/100), Wages (59/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Crestview's weakest areas? ▼
Crestview's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (16/100), Environment (22/100), Cost of Living (33/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Crestview compared to the national average? ▼
Crestview's Regional Price Parity is 97.0 (3.0% less than national); rent RPP 94.9.
What is the average salary in Crestview? ▼
Crestview median salary: $66,615, 119,420 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Crestview's 49.5/100 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.