Best PlacesCaptiva, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Captiva, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Captiva ranks 42,450th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Captiva
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Captiva's strengths and weaknesses
Where Captiva ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of towns
- Household income$108,644 median, better than 89% of towns
Where Captiva ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Short commute50.0 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of towns
Who lives in Captiva
Captiva runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Captiva.
Who works in Captiva, and how
Work in Captiva centers on construction and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 29%
- Work from home 69%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Captiva
Captiva has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. The coast is about 0 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Captiva and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Captiva, month by month
Captiva sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 77, with lows near 54. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 77° | 65° | 54° |
| April | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 89° | 78° | 71° |
Flying in and out of Captiva
Southwest Florida International sits about 27 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 103 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Captiva
Schools across Captiva average an A−, better than 93% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- The Sanibel SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Pine Island Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Challenger Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Ida S. Baker High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- South Fort Myers High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Captiva school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Captiva measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Captiva against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Captiva
Is Captiva a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Captiva ranks 42,450th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, quiet, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Captiva safe?
Captiva is safer than 1% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $681 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Captiva?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 77 with lows near 54. That works out to about 114 pleasant days a year, more than 76% of towns.
Compare Captiva with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Captiva. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Captiva represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Captiva detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Captiva: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Captiva: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Captiva: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Captiva: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Captiva detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.