Cape Coral, FL — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Florida·Cape Coral

Lee County · Cape Coral-Fort Myers · population 233,025

Bargain huntersGrowing fastRenter-friendly
Cape Coral, FL
Image: Wikipedia · Cape Coral, Florida
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
43
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Cape Coral stands

21% off 5-year peak. home values down 7.6% in the last year. population growing 4.7% per year.

Median home $339,638
1-year -7.6%
5-yr CAGR +3.6%
vs 5-yr peak -21.3%
Population +4.7%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-08$340k$192k$277k$363k$449k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
38/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
93/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,946/mo$1,437$1,854$2,270202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent119127100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 14.5
Buy

At a 14.5 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Cape Coral on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 14.5 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
14 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
57 · w22%
Distance from peak
22 · w18%
Population growth
90 · w16%
Rent YoY
22 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
62 · w10%
Long thesis

Cape Coral is 21% below its 5-year peak but compounded at +5.0% per year over a decade. Long-run trend is intact; you're buying through-the-cycle pricing in a market that has historically rewarded patience.

Short thesis

Cape Coral has given back 21% from its 5-year peak — that's not a healthy correction, it's a market still digesting an overshoot. The bear case is that the floor hasn't been found yet.

About Cape Coral

Cape Coral is a city in Lee County, Florida, with an estimated population of 233,025. It anchors the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area. The population has grown 4.7% per year on average between 2020 and 2024 — among the faster-growing communities in the state. The median home value in Cape Coral is $339,638 as of 2026-04, down 7.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.6% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 21% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Cape Coral average $1,946 per month, down 4.6% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 43 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

●People are voting with their feet: population growing 4.7% per year since 2020 — that’s faster than ~80% of US cities.
●Reset opportunity: 21% off recent peak but +5.0% annualized over 10 years — long-run trend is up even if the last year wasn’t.

▼ Bear case

●Prices actively falling: down 7.6% in the last 12 months — buyer sentiment has flipped. Sellers competing on price.
●21% off the 5-year peak. That’s not a healthy correction — that’s a market that ran too far and is still digesting.

About Cape Coral (Wikipedia)

Cape Coral is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957, the city's population had grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 census, a 26% increase from 154,309 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in Florida. With an area of 120 square miles (310 km2), Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and Miami in both population and area. It is the largest and principal city in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city has over 400 mi (640 km) of navigable waterways, more than any other city on earth.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorJohn Gunter
Area119.41 sq mi
Elevation10 ft
Established1957
Density1829.84/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it. Cape Coral is currently 21% off its 5-year peak — historically, that's been the discount tier of this market.

Seller

Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.

Investor

Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Lee County right now.

NWS active alerts (FL)Florida Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Lee County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Cape Coral

9 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Tarpon Point$915,521-14.3%
2Royal Tee$593,659-5.5%
3Cape Harbour$528,030-10.8%
4Island Harbors$489,889-12.7%
5Heatherwood Lakes$395,335-6.4%
6Sandoval$379,590-6.7%
7Bella Vida$326,547-11.2%
8Coral Lakes$300,786-4.9%
9Entrada$294,514-12.3%

Cities like Cape Coral

North Port, FL44 · CoolingVenice, FL42 · CoolingFort Myers, FL43 · CoolingDaytona Beach, FL53 · Stable

Run the numbers for Cape Coral

ToolCan I afford Cape Coral?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Cape Coral rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Cape Coral to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolCape Coral cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
70° / 51°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
90° / 73°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
233
~64% of year
Annual precip
54″ rain
0″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very high
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Very high

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Cape Coral listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
76%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$67,900
Florida state median
Top industries (state-level)
TourismHealthcareConstruction

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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