Panama City Beach is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico coast. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of "Panama City," despite being a distinct municipality from the older and larger inland Panama City to the east, making Panama City and Panama City Beach two separate cities. Panama City Beach's slogan is "The World's Most Beautiful Beaches" due to the unique sugar-white sandy beaches of Northwest Florida.
For quite some time Panama City Beach has been a popular vacation destination, especially among people in the Southern United States. The city is also a very popular spring break destination, sometimes being referred to as "The Spring Break Capital of the World," due to about 100,000+ college and high school students who arrive during the months of March and April.
Well-known locations in the city were places such as "The Hang-Out" at the Long Beach Resort motel and the now closed Original Miracle Strip Amusement Park. A construction boom from 2001 to 2007 dramatically changed the beachfront skyline with high rise condos and hotels. New attractions, such as Pier Park (a property of Simon Property Group), located in the heart of Panama City Beach, are a positive turn-around from the real estate down-turn from 2007-2009.
Real estate boom
A construction boom in the early to mid 2000s raised the economic image of the area due to the older homes & downtrodden motels, as pricey high-rise condominiums and luxury homes replace the older structures. However, this is turning unobstructed, low-rise beach views and affordable waterfront property into rarities. At the peak of the real estate boom, many beachfront properties had quadrupled or more in value since 2000. The real estate prospects were so promising that CNN/Money had named Panama City Beach as the #1 real estate market in America for the next 5 years in November 2006. Beachfront property has sold for upwards of $60,000 per "front foot" (linear foot) at the top of the market. The downturn in the USA real estate market in 2007, combined with a flux of new condo construction have brought spiraling prices somewhat under control, but they are still at lofty levels from their pre-boom days of the 1990s, yet still undervalued compared to other Northwest Florida coastal cities like Destin.
Geography
Panama City Beach is located at 
30°12′27″N 85°51′5″W / 30.2075°N 85.85139°W / 30.2075; -85.85139 (30.207362, -85.851485). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.0 square miles (18.2 km˛)— 6.9 square miles (18.0 km˛) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km˛) of it (1.42%) is water. There is approximately 27 miles (43 km) of shoreline in Panama City Beach with approximately half of it fronting the Gulf of Mexico.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1960 |
36 |
|
— |
| 1970 |
67 |
|
86.1% |
| 1980 |
2,148 |
|
3,106.0% |
| 1990 |
4,051 |
|
88.6% |
| 2000 |
7,671 |
|
89.4% |
| Est. 2007 |
14,435 |
|
88.2% |
| Population 1960-2000. |
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,671 people, 3,529 households, and 2,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,104.9 persons per square mile (426.8/km˛). There were 8,910 housing units at an average density of 1,283.4 houses per square mile (495.7/km˛). The racial makeup of the city was 96.21% White, 0.87% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population.
There were 3,529 households out of which 19.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.66.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,198, and the median income for a family was $49,127. Males had a median income of $32,459 versus $22,358 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,734. About 2.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The City of Panama City Beach government operates as a council-manager government. The Mayor sits as a Council member-at-large and presides over City Council meetings. In the event that the Mayor cannot preside over a City Council meeting, the Mayor Pro-Tem is the presiding officer of the meeting until such time as the Mayor returns to his seat. The City Manager is responsible for the administration and the day-to-day operation of all of the municipal services and city departments. The City Manager also maintains intergovernmental relationships with federal, state, county and other local governments.
The primary law enforcement agency in the city is the Panama City Beach Police Department. The city and the rest of Bay County are also under the jurisdiction of the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
City council
- Gayle Oberst – Mayor (Term Expires in 2012)
- Jeff Ferguson – Vice-Mayor Pro-Tem and Ward 1 Council member (Term Expires in 2010)
- Rick Russell – Ward 2 Council member (Term Expires in 2012)
- Bobby Bolton – Ward 3 Council member (Term Expires in 2010)
- Ken Nelson – Ward 4 Council member (Term Expires in 2012)
City management
Services
Education
Primary and secondary public education is provided by the Bay District Schools (BDS).
The Gulf Coast Community College (GCCC) is located in Panama City, just across the Hathaway Bridge from Panama City Beach.
The Florida State University Panama City branch campus (FSUPC) is also located in Panama City, just across the Hathaway Bridge from Panama City Beach.
Transportation
Panama City-Bay County International Airport provides commercial flights into the area. The airport serves private aircraft, domestic passenger flights, and freight/cargo flights.
The new Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport is currently being constructed northwest of Panama City Beach. It is expected to be completed by May 2010. It will be the first international airport to be constructed after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Major highways
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
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