Fort Myers, FL

The affordability dashboard for Fort Myers, FL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 11 ZIP codes covering 224,256 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (50/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $75,293, median home value of $340,716, median rent of $1,698 per month, and 35.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,961 per month (studio $1,629, 1BR $1,638, 3BR $2,560, 4BR $2,836). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,400 per year, consuming 14% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 3.9% and poverty 11.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.