Overall
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- 102.3
Diff -11.8 RPP
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach vs Cape Coral-Fort Myers
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Cape Coral-Fort Myers is 10.3% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.
10.3% less expensive
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL is 10.3% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.3 vs 114.2). A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach buys about the same as $89,658 in Cape Coral-Fort Myers; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 114.2 (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach) vs 102.3 (Cape Coral-Fort Myers)
- $100k in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach ≈ $89,658 purchasing power in Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- Rents drives the gap (-30.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:FL 114.2→102.3
TIER-GAP · SAME-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- SAME-STATE Same state · FL
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach would need to be in Cape Coral-Fort Myers for the same purchasing power:
| In Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | In Cape Coral-Fort Myers | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,829 | $-5,171 |
| $75,000 | $67,243 | $-7,757 |
| $100,000 | $89,658 | $-10,342 |
| $150,000 | $134,487 | $-15,513 |
$ in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach = in Cape Coral-Fort Myers
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (114.2 → 102.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.8 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Rents leads the difference, with Cape Coral-Fort Myers 30.4 points lower than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach corresponds to $89,658 in Cape Coral-Fort Myers.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -7.3 RPP
Services
Diff -10.3 RPP
Rents
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- 125.1
Diff -30.4 RPP
| Category | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | Cape Coral-Fort Myers | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 114.2 | 102.3 | -11.8 |
| Goods | 103.6 | 96.2 | -7.3 |
| Services | 97.2 | 86.9 | -10.3 |
| Rents | 155.6 | 125.1 | -30.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 114.2
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 102.3
Goods
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 103.6
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 96.2
Services
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 97.2
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 86.9
Rents
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 155.6
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 125.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
114.2
Cost Index
Cape Coral-Fort Myers
102.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cape Coral-Fort Myers more expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
Cape Coral-Fort Myers is 10.3% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. The overall cost index is 102.3 vs 114.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Cape Coral-Fort Myers equals $100K in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has the same purchasing power as $89,658 in Cape Coral-Fort Myers. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Cape Coral-Fort Myers?
Rents in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach are indexed at 155.6 while Cape Coral-Fort Myers is at 125.1 (national average = 100). Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.