Retirement Lists

Fort Myers, Florida vs Sarasota, Florida for retirement

Budget scenario

Selected scenario: Traveler

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At a glance

Fort Myers

Best fit

Lower traveler budget

Consider

Primary care access

Sarasota

Best fit

Stronger primary care access

Consider

Higher traveler budget

Monthly cost

MeasureFort MyersSarasota
Estimated Monthly Budget (Traveler)

$4,660

Lower by $1,598
Data details

Evidence: Hybrid

Reason: Model Limited

Basis: Estimated

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Data period: 2024 ACS 5-year; 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey; 2023-2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey

How measured: Model-limited traveler budget: reconciled renter costs plus disclosed short-term housing, dining, mobility, and coworking adjustments. Added utilities are $0 in the budget breakdown to avoid double-counting because ACS gross rent already includes tenant-paid utilities. No hidden buffer is included.

$6,258

Higher by $1,598
Data details

Evidence: Hybrid

Reason: Model Limited

Basis: Estimated

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Data period: 2024 ACS 5-year; 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey; 2023-2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey

How measured: Model-limited traveler budget: reconciled renter costs plus disclosed short-term housing, dining, mobility, and coworking adjustments. Added utilities are $0 in the budget breakdown to avoid double-counting because ACS gross rent already includes tenant-paid utilities. No hidden buffer is included.

Estimated 1BR rent

$1,397

Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Data period: 2024 ACS 5-year

How measured: ACS B25031_003E median gross rent for occupied rental units with 1 bedroom at Census place grain.

$1,564

Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Data period: 2024 ACS 5-year

How measured: ACS B25031_003E median gross rent for occupied rental units with 1 bedroom at Census place grain.

Healthcare

MeasureFort MyersSarasota
Healthcare access

Very Good

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Basis: City-level

Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe

How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.

Excellent

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Basis: City-level

Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe

How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.

Primary care access

Moderate

Lower published rating
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe

How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.

Very Good

Clear rating edge
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe

How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.

Pharmacy convenience

Very Good

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision

Basis: Modeled

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services NPPES NPI Registry

Observed: 2026-07-19T06:51:38.851Z

How measured: Count of unique active location addresses among organization NPIs with Community/Retail Pharmacy taxonomy matching Fort Myers, FL in the CMS/NPPES NPI Registry. Multi-page results are unioned by NPI until stable. This is exact city/state registry coverage, not a drive-time or radius-weighted count.

Excellent

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision

Basis: Modeled

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services NPPES NPI Registry

Observed: 2026-07-19T06:51:38.851Z

How measured: Count of unique active location addresses among organization NPIs with Community/Retail Pharmacy taxonomy matching Sarasota, FL in the CMS/NPPES NPI Registry. Multi-page results are unioned by NPI until stable. This is exact city/state registry coverage, not a drive-time or radius-weighted count.

Safety

MeasureFort MyersSarasota
Violent crime level

Good

Clear rating edge
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer

Observed: 2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z

How measured: 2024 annual rate calculated from all 12 FBI Crime Data Explorer monthly offense-rate observations for Fort Myers Police Department (FL0360100).

Moderate

Lower published rating
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer

Observed: 2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z

How measured: 2024 annual rate calculated from all 12 FBI Crime Data Explorer monthly offense-rate observations for Sarasota Police Department (FL0580100).

Property crime level

Very Good

Clear rating edge
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer

Observed: 2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z

How measured: 2024 annual rate calculated from all 12 FBI Crime Data Explorer monthly offense-rate observations for Fort Myers Police Department (FL0360100).

Very Good

Lower published rating
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: City-level

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer

Observed: 2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z

How measured: 2024 annual rate calculated from all 12 FBI Crime Data Explorer monthly offense-rate observations for Sarasota Police Department (FL0580100).

Climate

MeasureFort MyersSarasota
Climate comfort

3.9 / 5 · Very Good

Clear rating edge
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: Estimated

Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula

How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.

3.4 / 5 · Very Good

Lower published rating
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: Estimated

Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula

How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.

Summer comfort

4.1 / 5 · Very Good

Clear rating edge
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: Estimated

Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula

How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.

2.4 / 5 · Moderate

Lower published rating
Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: Estimated

Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula

How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.

Winter comfort

4.7 / 5 · Excellent

Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: Estimated

Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula

How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.

4.7 / 5 · Excellent

Data details

Evidence: Derived

Basis: Estimated

Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula

How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.

Air quality

4.7 / 5 · Excellent

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision

Basis: Modeled

Source: Open-Meteo / Copernicus CAMS

Observed: 2026-05-18T17:35:06.466Z

How measured: Air Quality is scored from the 2021-2025 average of 43824 hourly Copernicus CAMS PM2.5 model values at the city coordinate. No nearby qualifying EPA multiyear monitor is available, so this remains explicitly modeled.

4.7 / 5 · Excellent

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision

Basis: Modeled

Source: Open-Meteo / Copernicus CAMS, checked against U.S. EPA AirData

Observed: 2026-05-18T18:10:58.633Z

How measured: Air Quality is scored from the 2021-2025 average of 43824 hourly Copernicus CAMS PM2.5 model values at the city coordinate. The modeled baseline aligns with the nearest qualifying EPA 2021-2025 monitor mean within the accepted tolerance.

Daily life

MeasureFort MyersSarasota
Walkability

3 / 5 · Good

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Reason: Model Limited

Basis: Estimated

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Walkability Index

Observed: 2026-07-10T06:36:05.983Z

How measured: Population-weighted mean of EPA National Walkability Index block groups whose calculated polygon centroid falls inside the Census city-geography boundary; normalized from EPA 1-20 to 0-100 after aggregation. EPA NWI is a historical built-environment screen, not a current pedestrian audit. It does not measure every street, disability access, terrain, weather, or current transit frequency.

3.6 / 5 · Very Good

Planning estimate

Planning details

Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.

Evidence: Modeled

Reason: Model Limited

Basis: Estimated

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Walkability Index

Observed: 2026-07-10T06:36:05.983Z

How measured: Population-weighted mean of EPA National Walkability Index block groups whose calculated polygon centroid falls inside the Census city-geography boundary; normalized from EPA 1-20 to 0-100 after aggregation. EPA NWI is a historical built-environment screen, not a current pedestrian audit. It does not measure every street, disability access, terrain, weather, or current transit frequency.

Internet speed

380 Mbps

Data details

Evidence: Observed

Basis: City-level

Source: Speedtest by Ookla Open Data

How measured: Weighted median of fixed-broadband tile average download speeds within city radius, weighted by tests. Observation window ended 2026-03-31.

378 Mbps

Data details

Evidence: Observed

Basis: City-level

Source: Speedtest by Ookla Open Data

How measured: Weighted median of fixed-broadband tile average download speeds within city radius, weighted by tests. Observation window ended 2026-03-31.

Comparison worksheet

Fort Myers

  • Monthly housing quote
  • Drive time to preferred care
  • Grocery and pharmacy route
  • Neighborhood comfort and mobility

Notes

Sarasota

  • Monthly housing quote
  • Drive time to preferred care
  • Grocery and pharmacy route
  • Neighborhood comfort and mobility

Notes