Overall
97.0
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
Cost-of-living indicators for Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 97.0
- Overall RPP
- #129
- of 387 metros
- 94.9
- Rents RPP
- $103K
- $100K national buys
Crestview ranks #129 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Rochester
The verdict
Crestview costs less than 33% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 97.0, 3.0% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 89.0.
- bottom 67%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 89.0
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $103,060 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $97,031.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Crestview's overall RPP fell -1.3 points, from 98.4 in 2023 to 97.0 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 99.2 to 94.9. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index jumped 1.9 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Crestview overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.8 |
| 2009 | 94.3 |
| 2010 | 96.1 |
| 2011 | 97.1 |
| 2012 | 98.0 |
| 2013 | 96.8 |
| 2014 | 97.3 |
| 2015 | 97.2 |
| 2016 | 96.8 |
| 2017 | 95.5 |
| 2018 | 96.2 |
| 2019 | 95.8 |
| 2020 | 94.9 |
| 2021 | 96.8 |
| 2022 | 97.9 |
| 2023 | 98.4 |
| 2024 | 97.0 |
Service-cost relief profile
How Crestview's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Crestview: their index is 89.0, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 97.0 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Gainesville, GA, Asheville, NC, Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL. They resemble Crestview across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Crestview's overall index has stayed within 1.2 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Crestview vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
97 Top 33% higher than 67% of 387 US metros
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 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Crestview cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
94.9 RPP
- Services
Services
89 RPP
- Overall
Overall
97 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.2 RPP
What this shows Crestview's strongest departure is services at 89.0; rents follows at 94.9. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Crestview's cost comes from
Metros near Crestview's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Crestview (Crestview, this metro): goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 94.9
- Rochester: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 87.5
- Reading: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 85.4
- Milwaukee: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 97.1
- Lakeland: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 95.9
- Tucson: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 91.8
- Great Falls: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 97.1
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.2
Below avg
Services
89.0
Cheap
Rents
94.9
Below avg
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$97,031
in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,516
$75,000 nationally
$72,773
$125,000 nationally
$121,289
$150,000 nationally
$145,547
$200,000 nationally
$194,062
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
30/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
30th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
FL-relative analysis
Goods prices places Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL near the bottom of FL's metros
Among the 22 FL metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL ranks #2 - the 5th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#2 of 22
5th percentile in FL
Services prices
#2 of 22
91st percentile in FL
Rent prices
#16 of 22
27th percentile in FL
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within FL only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (97.0 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (94.9 here).
Other FL Metros
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 114.2 Naples-Marco Island, FL 103.2 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 102.4 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 102.3 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 101.4 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 100.9
View all FL metros → Cheapest in FL → Most expensive in FL →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Crestview's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Gainesville, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 89.6 · Rents 93.5 Asheville, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 88.6 · Rents 93.4 Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.1 · Rents 96.4 Wilmington, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 87.9 · Rents 93.2 Gainesville, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.2 · Rents 93.0 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 86.9 · Rents 95.9
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL's index of 97.0.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Crestview
How to read Crestview's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $103,060 in Crestview. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 89.0, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Crestview head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL?
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 97.0, meaning it is 3.0% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.2, services at 89.0, and rents at 94.9. It ranks #129 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $97,031 in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL. Conversely, $100K earned in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL has the purchasing power of $103,060 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL?
Rents in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL are indexed at 94.9, which is 5.1% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL's overall cost index changed by +1.2 points (from 95.8 to 97.0). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL?
The priciest category in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL is goods at 96.2, 3.8% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 89.0, 11.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Rochester, Reading, Milwaukee-Waukesha. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL's 97.0.
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.