Panama City Beach is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Florida. With a population of 19,393 people and ten associated neighborhoods, Panama City Beach is the 155th largest community in Florida. Much of the housing stock in Panama City Beach was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Panama City Beach economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Panama City Beach, where the median household income is $76,091.00.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.79% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Panama City Beach is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the city’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

Panama City Beach is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

In terms of college education, Panama City Beach is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 33.59% of adults in Panama City Beach have a college degree.

The per capita income in Panama City Beach in 2022 was $47,615, which is upper middle income relative to Florida, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $190,460 for a family of four. However, Panama City Beach contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Panama City Beach is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Panama City Beach home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Panama City Beach residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Panama City Beach include Irish, English, German, French, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Panama City Beach is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.