PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Wildwood-The Villages, FL

71.6
Life Score / 100
A+
Grade (curved)
#1
of 387 metros
100%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Wildwood ranks #1 of 387 US metros, ahead of 100% - carried by its cost of living (98/100) and held back most by childcare (46/100).

98
strongest: Cost of Living
97
then: Environment
46
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Wildwood sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

72 Top 1% higher than 100% 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%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Below this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Below this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Wildwood Life Score

Wildwood's composite score of 71.6 out of 100, a grade of A+, places the metro at rank #1 of 387, ahead of 100% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (98/100) and Environment (97/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (46/100) and Wages (47/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 85.4 (rent-RPP 51.7). BLS median salary $63,776, 34,870 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,328/mo (studio $1,076).

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 #--#4 below.

Dimension detail

How Wildwood scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 98/100 (20%)
Wages 47/100 (20%)
Rent 48/100 (15%)
Safety 83/100 (15%)
Schools 88/100 (10%)
Childcare 46/100 (10%)
Environment 97/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$63,776
Avg Median Salary
$1,328
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)
34,870
Total Employment

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

Compare Wildwood With...

Wildwood vs Jacksonville Compare → Wildwood vs Tallahassee Compare → Wildwood vs Sebring Compare → Wildwood vs Waterloo Compare → Wildwood vs Paducah Compare → Wildwood vs Winston Compare →

Ranking Context

Wildwood outranks 100% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#1 Wildwood-The Villages, FL 71.6 A+
#2 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 71.5 A+
#3 Paducah, KY-IL 70.0 A+
#4 Winston-Salem, NC 69.8 A+

FL Metro Scores

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 Naples-Marco Island, FL B- 49.8

Using Wildwood's Life Score

Wildwood 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 cost of living (98/100) and its weakest is childcare (46/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Wildwood head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Wildwood 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 Wildwood's biggest strengths? ▼
Wildwood's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (98/100), Environment (97/100), Schools (88/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Wildwood's weakest areas? ▼
Wildwood's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (46/100), Wages (47/100), Rent (48/100).
How expensive is Wildwood compared to the national average? ▼
Wildwood's Regional Price Parity is 85.4 (14.6% less than national); rent RPP 51.7.
What is the average salary in Wildwood? ▼
Wildwood median salary: $63,776, 34,870 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Wildwood's 71.6/100 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.