Houston vs Panama City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Houston	Panama City
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2265	$1583
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5394	$3567
🏠 One person rent	$1281	$976
🏘️ Family rent	$2031	$1633
🍽️ Food expenses	$603	$432
🚐 Transport expenses	$201	$69.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4606	$936
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	17 km	7 km
🎓 Higher education	100	42
😀 Quality of life	95	69
🏙️ Population	2.3M	410K

The cost of living in Houston is 43% more expensive than in Panama City. Cities ranked 1354th and 3744th ($2265 vs $1583) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1137th and 1st in the United States and Panama, respectively. Check the United States vs Panama comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Houston compared to 0.6 months in Panama City. Houston ranked 1st best city to live in the United States vs Panama City ranked 1st in Panama, while ranked 16th and 4400th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Houston vs Panama City

Prices for goods and services in Houston and Panama City are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Houston	Panama City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$18.7	$10.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$73.6	$45.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.8	$7.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.31	$2.97
☕ Cappuccino	$5.52	$3.94
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.74	$1.71
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1411	$1062
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1003	$794
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2380	$1911
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1609	$1347
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$132	$82.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$204	$128
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$63.9	$45.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.39%	6.26%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2542	$3048
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1944	$1725
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.24	$0.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$71.3	$22.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$21.8	$17.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.72	$0.93
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.9	$1.84
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.19	$2.23
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.69	$2.33
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.06	$3.26
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.4	$11.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.5	$6.57
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.1	$9.64
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.95	$3.53
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.67	$1.62
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.76	$3.29
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.92	$3.03
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$2.46
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.6	$3.74
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$1.16
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.17	$2.41
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.5	$11.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.31	$1.44
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.24	$6.04
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.34	$8.16
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$8	$8.03
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.92	$2.96
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.21	$3.04
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$43.9	$42.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.9	$7.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$149	$50.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$22.6	$14.5
👖 Brand Jeans	$46.3	$53.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$101	$91.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1729	$503
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$22380	$13402

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Houston

Distance	City	Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi	Pasadena	$2228
25 km or 15 mi	Pearland	$2150
25 km or 16 mi	Missouri	$2094
27 km or 17 mi	Deer Park	$2260
29 km or 18 mi	Sugar Land	$2071
32 km or 20 mi	Spring	$2112
33 km or 21 mi	Friendswood	$2136
35 km or 22 mi	La Porte	$2297
40 km or 25 mi	Baytown	$2386
41 km or 25 mi	League	$2102
42 km or 26 mi	Alvin	$2072
47 km or 29 mi	Rosenberg	$2114
48 km or 30 mi	The Woodlands	$2738
59 km or 37 mi	Texas City	$2048
62 km or 38 mi	Conroe	$1836
76 km or 47 mi	Galveston	$1897
81 km or 50 mi	Lake Jackson	$2112
108 km or 67 mi	Huntsville	$2022
126 km or 78 mi	Beaumont	$1605
129 km or 80 mi	College Station	$1913
138 km or 86 mi	Bryan	$2000
140 km or 87 mi	Port Arthur	$1900
186 km or 115 mi	Lufkin	$1887
188 km or 117 mi	Victoria	$2226
203 km or 126 mi	Sulphur	$1971
215 km or 134 mi	Lake Charles	$1904
217 km or 135 mi	Nacogdoches	$1510
229 km or 142 mi	Pflugerville	$2115
234 km or 145 mi	Austin	$2444
236 km or 146 mi	Round Rock	$2027
239 km or 149 mi	Temple	$2153
242 km or 150 mi	Kyle	$2237
242 km or 150 mi	Georgetown	$2125
247 km or 153 mi	San Marcos	$2229
249 km or 155 mi	Cedar Park	$2171
250 km or 156 mi	Seguin	$2200
254 km or 158 mi	Leander	$2187
261 km or 162 mi	Waco	$2285
262 km or 163 mi	Harker Heights	$2059
264 km or 164 mi	New Braunfels	$2221

Cities near Panama City

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.1 km or 5 mi	Balboa	$1425
16 km or 9.9 mi	Tocumen	$1403
26 km or 16 mi	Pacora	$1395
34 km or 21 mi	La Chorrera	$977
59 km or 37 mi	Colon	$1179
108 km or 67 mi	Penonome	$1153
154 km or 96 mi	Chitre	$1154
190 km or 118 mi	Santiago de Veraguas	$1122
321 km or 199 mi	Turbo	$764
329 km or 204 mi	David	$922
398 km or 247 mi	Monteria	$703
403 km or 250 mi	Limon	$1332
406 km or 252 mi	Santa Cruz de Lorica	$764
452 km or 281 mi	Sincelejo	$572
463 km or 288 mi	Cartagena	$1155
483 km or 300 mi	Quibdo	$757
494 km or 307 mi	Cartago	$1290
513 km or 319 mi	San Jose	$1454
518 km or 322 mi	Heredia	$1378
521 km or 324 mi	Magangue	$707
526 km or 327 mi	Bello	$915
529 km or 329 mi	Alajuela	$1323
530 km or 329 mi	Medellin	$1071
534 km or 332 mi	Envigado	$992
558 km or 347 mi	Soledad	$950
559 km or 348 mi	Barranquilla	$909
595 km or 370 mi	Puntarenas	$825
617 km or 383 mi	Cartago	$738
617 km or 383 mi	Cienaga	$874
623 km or 387 mi	Manizales	$717
627 km or 390 mi	Santa Teresa	$1273
627 km or 390 mi	Pereira	$789
631 km or 392 mi	Santa Marta	$971
632 km or 393 mi	Buenaventura	$825
636 km or 395 mi	Minca	$887
651 km or 404 mi	Salento	$709
652 km or 405 mi	Armenia	$719
657 km or 408 mi	Tulua	$537
658 km or 409 mi	Barrancabermeja	$1040
675 km or 419 mi	Liberia	$957