Overall
97.3
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL
Cost-of-living indicators for Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 97.3
- Overall RPP
- #124
- of 387 metros
- 96.4
- Rents RPP
- $103K
- $100K national buys
Panama City ranks #124 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Madison
The verdict
Panama City costs less than 32% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 97.3, 2.7% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 88.1.
- bottom 68%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 88.1
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $102,779 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $97,296.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$97,296
in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,648
$75,000 nationally
$72,972
$125,000 nationally
$121,620
$150,000 nationally
$145,944
$200,000 nationally
$194,592
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
28/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
28th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Service-cost relief profile
How Panama City's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Panama City: their index is 88.1, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 97.3 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL. They resemble Panama City across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Panama City's overall index has stayed within 0.6 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Panama City vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
97 Top 32% higher than 68% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Panama City cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
96.4 RPP
- Services
Services
88.1 RPP
- Overall
Overall
97.3 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.2 RPP
What this shows Panama City's strongest departure is services at 88.1; goods follows at 96.2. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Panama City's cost comes from
Metros near Panama City's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Panama City (Panama City, this metro): goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 96.4
- Madison: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 99.7
- St. George: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 98.1
- Charlotte: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 97.6
- Lakeland: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 95.9
- Dover: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 95.9
- Reading: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 85.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.2
Below avg
Services
88.1
Cheap
Rents
96.4
Below avg
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Panama City's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 97.8 in 2023 to 97.3 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 91.4 to 88.1. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.6 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2013, when the index dropped 2.5 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Panama City overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.7 |
| 2009 | 94.4 |
| 2010 | 96.4 |
| 2011 | 97.7 |
| 2012 | 96.8 |
| 2013 | 94.3 |
| 2014 | 95.2 |
| 2015 | 94.8 |
| 2016 | 95.2 |
| 2017 | 94.1 |
| 2018 | 94.2 |
| 2019 | 94.6 |
| 2020 | 94.6 |
| 2021 | 96.8 |
| 2022 | 97.3 |
| 2023 | 97.8 |
| 2024 | 97.3 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL's index of 97.3.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
FL-relative analysis
Goods prices places Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL near the bottom of FL's metros
Among the 22 FL metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL ranks #2 - the 5th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#2 of 22
5th percentile in FL
Services prices
#8 of 22
64th percentile in FL
Rent prices
#14 of 22
36th percentile in FL
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within FL only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (97.3 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (96.4 here).
Other FL Metros
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 114.2 Naples-Marco Island, FL 103.2 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 102.4 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 102.3 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 101.4 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 100.9
View all FL metros → Cheapest in FL → Most expensive in FL →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Panama City's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 86.9 · Rents 95.9 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.2 · Rents 97.6 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 89.0 · Rents 94.9 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.5 · Rents 98.8 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.3 · Rents 98.9 Richmond, VA
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.2 · Rents 99.1
Compare to Other Metros
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Panama City
How to read Panama City's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $102,779 in Panama City. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 88.1, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Panama City head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL?
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 97.3, meaning it is 2.7% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.2, services at 88.1, and rents at 96.4. It ranks #124 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $97,296 in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL. Conversely, $100K earned in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL has the purchasing power of $102,779 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL?
Rents in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL are indexed at 96.4, which is 3.6% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL's overall cost index changed by +0.6 points (from 96.7 to 97.3). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL?
The priciest category in Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL is rents at 96.4, 3.6% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 88.1, 11.9% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Madison, St. George, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL's 97.3.
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.