USLivingCost Salaries · Rent · Cost of Living

Cape Coral, FL vs. Port St. Lucie, FL

Median rent is $1,751 a month in Cape Coral, FL and $1,781 in Port St. Lucie, FL. Household income is $76,062 against $78,137. Both cities are read from the same ACS 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates and the same BEA Regional Price Parities 2023, so the two columns below are directly comparable.

$
Same standard of living
A salary of $100,000 in Cape Coral, FL buys what $99,132 buys in Port St. Lucie, FL
-$868 less to keep the same standard of living
Median gross rent Monthly
$1,751 $1,781 +1.7%
Median household income Annual
$76,062 $78,137 +2.7%
Median home value Owner-occupied
$339,200 $327,700 -3.4%
Rent as share of income Annual rent ÷ income
27.6% 27.4% -0.2 pp
Price level U.S. average = 100
102.6 101.7 -0.9%
Salary needed for median rent Keeps rent at 30% of gross
$70,000 $71,200 +1.7%
Rent median income carries at 30% Affordable rent
$1,902 $1,953 +2.7%
Population City proper
206,387 220,453 +6.8%
Equivalent salary For $100,000 in Cape Coral
$100,000 $99,132 -0.9%

A green or red badge means the second city is higher or lower, not better or worse: a lower rent is good for a tenant, a lower household income is not. For the price level and
the share of income the raw values are shown, because a percentage difference between two
percentages is easy to misread.

What the gap means

Lower rent
$1,751
Cape Coral, FL · 1.7% below Port St. Lucie, FL
Higher household income
$78,137
Port St. Lucie, FL · 2.7% above Cape Coral, FL
Same standard of living
$99,132
$100,000 in Cape Coral, FL needs $99,132 in Port St. Lucie, FL
Price level gap
0.9 points
102.6 in FL against 101.7 in FL
Rent burden gap
0.3 points
Cape Coral, FL versus Port St. Lucie, FL, share of income taken by rent
Highest buying power
98.4%
Port St. Lucie, FL · share of the national average income that a dollar there buys

Occupation wages in both metros

May 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Metropolitan areas may differ from city boundaries.

Occupation Cape Coral, FL median Port St. Lucie, FL median vs.
Retail Salespersons $34,650 $34,020 -1.8%
Registered Nurses $82,860 $82,090 -0.9%
Waiters and Waitresses $36,660 $36,250 -1.1%
Fast Food and Counter Workers $29,360 $29,130 -0.8%
General and Operations Managers $94,730 $94,910 +0.2%
Customer Service Representatives $38,180 $38,380 +0.5%
Construction Laborers $43,290 $42,960 -0.8%
Nursing Assistants $37,510 $37,690 +0.5%

Metropolitan areas and cover every industry together, so the two columns may describe wider areas than the city limits used for rent and income.

More comparisons with Cape Coral, FL

More comparisons with Port St. Lucie, FL

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Definitions used on this page

Salary needed for the median rent
Twelve months of median gross rent divided by 0.30: the income that keeps the median rent at 30% of gross pay.
Price level
BEA regional price parity for the metro area where one is published, otherwise for the state. The national average is 100.
Same standard of living
A salary in Cape Coral, FL converted into Port St. Lucie, FL at the ratio of the two price levels. It adjusts for prices only, not for taxes or for what either city offers.
Buying power
One hundred divided by the price level: what a dollar buys locally relative to the national average.

Sources

Margins of error are published for every Census figure. Read the methodology before reading a small gap between two cities as a real difference.

Full detail for each city: Cape Coral, FL · Port St. Lucie, FL