Is Fort Myers Shores a good place to live?
More weak spots than strong ones. Cost of living is its weak spot — the typical home is worth about $293K, 3.8 years of the Cape Coral metro’s $76K median household income. Fort Myers Shores ranks 541st of 634 in Florida, with a D overall. Nationally, it does better than 10% of U.S. towns. It also trails on hazard risk — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Its strongest is walkability: it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Fort Myers Shores’ January low is 54°F, above both the Florida town median (51°F) and the median of U.S. towns (22°F).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
How Fort Myers Shores grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Fort Myers Shores is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Fort Myers Shores stand out
Where Fort Myers Shores beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
97% of working residents leave Fort Myers Shores for work
Where Fort Myers Shores’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fort Myers Shores.
Fort Myers Shores has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Fort Myers and beyond.
Natural hazards: very high risk in Fort Myers Shores, mostly hurricanes
Expected losses in Fort Myers Shores break down as 63% from hurricanes and 26% from inland flooding. Flood insurance has paid out on 556 claims locally since 1982. Federal aid has come to Fort Myers Shores households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2017.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most people working in Fort Myers Shores commute elsewhere
Fort Myers Shores has 435 jobs for its 2,297 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
The share of working residents in Fort Myers Shores who work locally: 2.5%. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 225, to 435. Fort Myers Shores’ mean commuting time is 29 minutes. Half commute less than 14 miles.
| Fort Myers Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.8% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fort Myers Shores is less healthy than two in three U.S. towns
Among adults in Fort Myers Shores, 18% have been diagnosed with depression. In Fort Myers Shores, 16% of adults report frequent physical distress, and 15% have diabetes.
| Fort Myers Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Fort Myers Shores | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17% | 12.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 7.2% |
| More smokers | 15.3% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mild winters and hot summers: that is Fort Myers Shores’ year
The Punta Gorda 4 Ese weather station, 20 miles away, records that about 136 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. January nights average 54°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.5°.
Fort Myers Shores’ July high stands at 92°F. Snow almost never falls.
| Fort Myers Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 54°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Protected land: 0.9% of Fort Myers Shores
Trails run 0.2 miles in 3 parks and preserves. In Fort Myers Shores, the density of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Fort Myers Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Columbus G. MacLeod Preserve | — | 9 |
| 2. Shores Nature Trail Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Davis Boat Ramp | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Fort Myers Shores sell for about $265K
For households locally, the share who are owner-occupiers is 54%. Fort Myers Shores’ rent at the middle of the market comes in at $1,567 a month. Sellers in Fort Myers Shores got 95.5% of the asking price, typically.
| Fort Myers Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,567 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Fort Myers Shores
Edison and Ford Winter Estates and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Myers Shores. Close and well known come first.
9 mi MuseumEdison and Ford Winter Estates
19 mi Stadium & arenaHertz Arena
20 mi State parkKoreshan State Historic Site21 mi State parkMound Key Archeological State Park
39 mi Ancient siteWarm Mineral Springs
30 mi State parkCayo Costa State ParkPhoto credits
Edison and Ford Winter Estates: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hertz Arena: Tthaas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Koreshan State Historic Site: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Warm Mineral Springs: Blas0082, Public domain · Cayo Costa State Park: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea_pauline/, CC BY-SA 2.0
Moving to Fort Myers Shores: who provides what
Fort Myers Shores is unincorporated, so Lee County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Myers Shores
About 5 of every 100 Fort Myers Shores residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
About Fort Myers Shores
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Fort Myers Shores is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,774 at the 2020 census, up from 5,487 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 10 ft
- Area code
- 239
Fort Myers Shores’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Fort Myers Shores.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Myers Shores | #541 | D | C− | — | C+ | C |
| Olga | #525 | D | C− | — | C+ | C |
| Verandah | — | — | D | — | C+ | A− |
Verandah has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Fort Myers Shores, Olga and Verandah report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Myers Shores with a neighbor →
Questions about Fort Myers Shores
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fort Myers Shores, FL a good place to live?
Fort Myers Shores grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #541 of 634 in Florida. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Fort Myers Shores, FL expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $293,000, 22% below the Florida typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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