Overall
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 97.6
Diff -0.3 RPP
Durham-Chapel Hill vs Panama City-Panama City Beach
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Panama City-Panama City Beach is 0.3% less expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill.
0.3% less expensive
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL is 0.3% less expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 97.6). A $100,000 salary in Durham-Chapel Hill buys about the same as $99,717 in Panama City-Panama City Beach; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.6 (Durham-Chapel Hill) vs 97.3 (Panama City-Panama City Beach)
- $100k in Durham-Chapel Hill ≈ $99,717 purchasing power in Panama City-Panama City Beach
- Rents drives the gap (-2.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:FL 97.6→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × FL
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Durham-Chapel Hill
97.6
Cost Index
Panama City-Panama City Beach
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC and Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents leads the difference, with Panama City-Panama City Beach 2.5 points lower than Durham-Chapel Hill. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Durham-Chapel Hill corresponds to $99,717 in Panama City-Panama City Beach.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 96.6
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 89.3
Diff -1.2 RPP
Rents
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 98.9
Diff -2.5 RPP
| Category | Durham-Chapel Hill | Panama City-Panama City Beach | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.6 | 97.3 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.2 | -0.4 |
| Services | 89.3 | 88.1 | -1.2 |
| Rents | 98.9 | 96.4 | -2.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Durham-Chapel Hill 97.6
Panama City-Panama City Beach 97.3
Goods
Durham-Chapel Hill 96.6
Panama City-Panama City Beach 96.2
Services
Durham-Chapel Hill 89.3
Panama City-Panama City Beach 88.1
Rents
Durham-Chapel Hill 98.9
Panama City-Panama City Beach 96.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Durham-Chapel Hill would need to be in Panama City-Panama City Beach for the same purchasing power:
| In Durham-Chapel Hill | In Panama City-Panama City Beach | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,859 | $-141 |
| $75,000 | $74,788 | $-212 |
| $100,000 | $99,717 | $-283 |
| $150,000 | $149,576 | $-424 |
$ in Durham-Chapel Hill = in Panama City-Panama City Beach
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.6 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Panama City-Panama City Beach more expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill?
Panama City-Panama City Beach is 0.3% less expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 97.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Panama City-Panama City Beach equals $100K in Durham-Chapel Hill?
A $100,000 salary in Durham-Chapel Hill has the same purchasing power as $99,717 in Panama City-Panama City Beach. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Durham-Chapel Hill and Panama City-Panama City Beach?
Rents in Durham-Chapel Hill are indexed at 98.9 while Panama City-Panama City Beach is at 96.4 (national average = 100). Durham-Chapel Hill has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.