City · Bay County, Florida

Panama City Beach, Florida

Panama City Beach is a city in Bay County, Florida, part of the Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL metro area. It has 18,971 residents. Panama City Beach, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 41 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,291 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #439 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), comfortable days (high) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), suicide rate (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

41Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,291 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #439 of 780 in FL
Population: 18,971 (2020-2024)
Land area: 19 mi²
Density: 982.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1254725

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety28#11,258/15,637
Economy51#7,730/15,631
Housing14#12,854/14,977
Health44#8,809/15,609
Healthcare25#11,720/15,650
Environment39#9,379/15,453
Education76#3,750/15,649
Infrastructure85#2,362/15,650
Community18#12,762/15,651
Leisure & amenities77#3,613/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Panama City Beach, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bay County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Restaurants and bars · high14.0 /10k
93/100Florida 9.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBay County value
Comfortable days · high33.9%
93/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBay County value
New business applications · high20.9 /1k
92/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauBay County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100Florida 0.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBay County value
Reading scores · high3.24
82/100Florida 3.17United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBay County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high6.2 /10k
82/100Florida 5.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBay County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high59.5%
4/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Suicide rate · high28.3 /100k
5/100Florida 15.6 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBay County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high145 mi
5/100Florida 27 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBay County value
Natural hazard risk · high94.5
6/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyBay County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
7/100Florida 0.2 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBay County value
Firearm deaths · high23.6 /100k
8/100Florida 12.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBay County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
12,751 (2015-2019) → 18,971 (2020-2024)
+49%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
33.8 /1k (2021) → 4.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−88%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.3% (2015-2019) → 59.5% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
3.6% (2015-2019) → 12.8% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.8× (2015-2019) → 5.5× (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
31.5% (2015-2019) → 38.0% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Panama City Beach, Florida improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 4 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Bachelor's++6.5 points31.5% → 38.0%
Household income+27%$63,912 → $80,941
Broadband+4 points90.5% → 94.5%

Declined5

Price / income+1.6×3.8× → 5.5×
Inequality+0.0800.378 → 0.458
Rent burden+17 points42.3% → 59.5%
Poverty+5.3 points4.7% → 10.0%
Rent / income+6.1 points27.6% → 33.7%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Panama City Beach, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.8 min2015-2019	20.7 min2020-2024	−1.0 min	Within the margin of error	60%
Bachelor's degree or higher	31.5%2015-2019	38.0%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Improved	77%
Broadband subscriptions	90.5%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	+4 points	Improved	25%
Effective property tax rate	0.80%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	92.7%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	5.5×2020-2024	+1.6×	Declined	7%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3782015-2019	0.4582020-2024	+0.080	Declined	8%
Median household income	$63,9122015-2019	$80,9412020-2024	+27%	Improved	48%
Poverty rate	4.7%2015-2019	10.0%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Declined	12%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Declined	18%
Rent-burdened households	42.3%2015-2019	59.5%2020-2024	+17 points	Declined	12%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.1%2015-2019	17.2%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	18%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Panama City Beach, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Panama City Beach, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Panama City Beach, Florida itself moved −12.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

18,971 residents (±37)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

8,713 households (±419)

Panama City Beach, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k13%1,132
$25k–50k16%1,362
$50k–75k14%1,263

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

8,713 households (±419)

Panama City Beach, Florida
Florida share

Own59%5,160
Rent41%3,553

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

10,262 workers (±642)

Panama City Beach, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone73%7,493
Carpool8.2%†837
Public transit0.1%†12

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bay County, the county holding most of Panama City Beach's residents.

Bay County has 5,306 employer establishments, 275 for every 10,000 residents (1.11× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Florida's), with 62,282 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,032. The Census Bureau also counts 21,441 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,306; 21,441 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 275; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 62,282
Average annual pay: $48,032; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bay County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	454	23.5	1.13×About typical	4,378	$70,896	721
Specialty trade contractors	423	21.9	1.42×More than typical	3,201	$52,053	1,586
Restaurants and other eating places	406	21	1.15×About typical	8,873	$25,396	129
Lessors of real estate	364	18.9	1.53×More than typical	1,088	$46,312	2,802
Construction of buildings	226	11.7	1.55×More than typical	1,144	$63,497	988
Offices of physicians	220	11.4	1.76×More than typical	2,269	$86,108	166
Services to buildings and dwellings	213	11	1.64×More than typical	1,760	$32,774	2,887
Full-service restaurants	197	10.2	1.33×More than typical	5,087	$28,879	68
Limited-service restaurants	166	8.6	1.07×About typical	3,414	$20,318	31
Real estate agents and brokers	163	8.4	1.74×More than typical	253	$49,810	930
Building equipment contractors	147	7.6	1.27×More than typical	1,652	$56,778	242
Building finishing contractors	125	6.5	1.70×More than typical	503	$40,710	646

Rank places for an industry Open Bay County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 192,941 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $42.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Panama City Beach, Florida: $2,224 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $42.2M; −34% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,224; US $1,994
Sole-source: 13%; US 30%
Single offer: 19%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$36.2M86%
Department of the Air Force$3.7M8.7%
Department of the Army$953K2.3%
Federal Acquisition Service$826.9K2.0%
Federal Aviation Administration$346K0.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$133.6K0.3%
U.S. Coast Guard$80.3K0.2%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$54.1K0.1%

Top recipients

INNOVATIVE PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS, INC.$4.7M11%
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION$3.5M8.3%
BEVILACQUA RESEARCH CORPORATION$3.2M7.7%
LEIDOS, INC.$3.2M7.5%
ISPA TECHNOLOGY LLC$2.3M5.4%

Spending by fiscal year

35.3MFY2017
36.9MFY2018
38.1MFY2019
44.3MFY2020
43.2MFY2021
122.3MFY2022
71.5MFY2023
71.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$22.7M54%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$3.7M8.7%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$3.2M7.6%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$1.9M4.4%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1.6M3.9%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Panama City Beach, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Panama City Beach, Florida's figures are part of those of Bay County, FL ($680.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 6.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Panama City Beach is mostly in Bay County.

See federal money in Bay County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Panama City Beach, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Neal P. DunnR-FL-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 18.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Bay County53100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL41

Other cities and towns in Bay County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1254725

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends