Charlotte County, FL

County Profile

201,064 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Charlotte County, FL.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 18% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity921st of 1,255 counties measured43
SchoolsTop 25% of 973 counties measured70
GrowthTop 15% of 1,226 counties measured69
Housing affordability1133rd of 1,255 counties measured65
ClimateTop 7% of 1,254 counties measured80
Physical resilience1248th of 1,255 counties measured5
AccessTop 37% of 1,255 counties measured87
Economic stability1021st of 1,255 counties measured39
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published profiles: unemployment is 5.8% and the Opportunity signal places Charlotte County in the bottom 27%.

Housing sits below most published city profiles for affordability: rent takes 25% of median household income and the median home is 4.7 times it — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, coastal flooding and lightning.

At a glance

Population
201,064
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,952
Top 37% nationally
Density
295/sq mi
681.1 sq mi of land
Median age
59.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Charlotte County
Florida
Metro area
Punta Gorda, FL
Nearest major airport
RSW
30 mi · Southwest Florida Intl
Median home value
$328,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.8% is lower than 8% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 73,180 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,682$69,952Top 37%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,254$42,592Top 18%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.0%Bottom 18%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.7 minTop 30%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.0%Top 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment73,180Top 34%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.9%Top 30%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.2%Bottom 38%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force77,659Top 33%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation43.2%Bottom 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)1.0%Top 5%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate5.8%Top 8%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.83.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.8% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202470k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $69,952 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Punta Gorda, FL
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons2,720$34,290
Waiters and Waitresses1,780$36,360
Cashiers1,640$30,770
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,570$29,100
Registered Nurses1,430$80,410
General and Operations Managers1,380$89,820

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.2 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
63.4%
Top 15% in Florida
Reading proficiency
59.0%
Top 21% in Florida
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
CHARLOTTE HIGH SCHOOLCHARLOTTE1,87220.6
PORT CHARLOTTE HIGH SCHOOLCHARLOTTE1,73021.1
LEMON BAY HIGH SCHOOLCHARLOTTE1,34320.3
PUNTA GORDA MIDDLE SCHOOLCHARLOTTE1,09819.359%51%
BABCOCK NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL · charterCHARLOTTE1,05316.247%55%
PORT CHARLOTTE MIDDLE SCHOOLCHARLOTTE85819.177%57%
EAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHARLOTTE81416.666%69%
DEEP CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHARLOTTE78115.664%67%
LIBERTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHARLOTTE76415.957%56%
NEIL ARMSTRONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHARLOTTE76315.364%62%
MEADOW PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHARLOTTE70815.462%57%
MURDOCK MIDDLE SCHOOLCHARLOTTE65619.357%57%

42.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,464 takes 25% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
25.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,464
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$328,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income4.70Top 12%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate83.8%Top 6%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±90118,679Top 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$59$1,464Top 8%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,140$328,900Top 15%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income25.1%Top 4%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate23.7%Top 18%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
69/ 100
Top 15% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2022 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 13% since 2020, reaching 212,122 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 15.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
3,186
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
15.8
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
−10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
4.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024212k188k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420256k3k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−47%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 51°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 53.0 inches.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PUNTA GORDA CHARLOTTE CO AP, 1.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND9.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation53.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low51°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months81991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing21°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

5 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, coastal flooding and lightning.

HurricaneHigh
LightningModerate
WildfireModerate
Coastal floodingElevated
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, heat wave, strong wind, tornado, drought, earthquake, landslide, hail.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Charlotte County records 4.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 16.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.2 per 100,000 residents in Charlotte County.

Homicide
4.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Charlotte County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Charlotte County rather than Charlotte County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 30 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Southwest Florida IntlRSW30 mi12,000 ft
Sarasota/Bradenton IntlSRQ48 mi9,500 ft
Lakeland Linder IntlLAL75 mi8,500 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.