---
title: "Living in Panama City as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/panama-city
description: "Skyline on the canal, dollars in the wallet"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Panama City, Panama

Panama City scores 53.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 234 of 309 cities. Expect about $1,742 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 43.6 Mbps.

Panama City is a modern hub using the US dollar, with rainforest inside the city and a friendly visa regime. It is humid all year and car-oriented.

Known for: US dollar, Hub airport, Canal and rainforest, Humid year-round.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 53.5 |
| Cost of living | 43 |
| Safety | 43 |
| Healthcare | 77 |
| Internet | 65 |
| Visa ease | 52 |
| Getting there & around | 28 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 79 |
| Quality of life | 61 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,742 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | $1,055 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | $685 | city | 2026-07 | [^2] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 20.3 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 70.4 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 82 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 77.2 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 43.6 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 9.9 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 180 days / 90 days / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (PTY) | 93 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 14.3 | city | 2023 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.839 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 26.6 | 20 | 79 | yes |
| Feb | 26.9 | 9 | 74 | yes |
| Mar | 27.5 | 18 | 70 | yes |
| Apr | 28.1 | 107 | 73 | no |
| May | 27.8 | 245 | 81 | no |
| Jun | 27.4 | 253 | 84 | no |
| Jul | 27.2 | 204 | 85 | no |
| Aug | 27.2 | 220 | 85 | no |
| Sep | 27.1 | 245 | 84 | no |
| Oct | 26.8 | 260 | 85 | no |
| Nov | 26.7 | 248 | 85 | no |
| Dec | 26.8 | 108 | 83 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tocumen International Airport | PTY | 93 | 89 | 20 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 93, of which 89 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Boquete](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/boquete) (50.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/boquete-vs-panama-city)
- [Pattaya](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pattaya) (56.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/panama-city-vs-pattaya)
- [Phuket](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/phuket) (50.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/panama-city-vs-phuket)
- [Valparaíso](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/valparaiso) (61.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/panama-city-vs-valparaiso)
- [Sarajevo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/sarajevo) (53.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/panama-city-vs-sarajevo)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Panama City as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,742 per month in Panama City, renting a one-bedroom outside the centre (about $685). A central one-bedroom costs about $1,055, which brings the total to roughly $2,112. That is a 43/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Panama City safe for digital nomads?

Panama City scores 43/100 on safety. Panama records 20.3 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 70.4/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Panama have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Panama as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 180 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Panama City?

Measured median download speed in Panama City was 43.6 Mbps (upload 9.9 Mbps) across 13,506 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Which airports serve Panama City and how many nonstop flights are there?

Panama City is served by Tocumen International Airport (PTY) with 93 nonstop destinations, of which 89 are international. 20 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Panama City?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 80°F (27°C) in Jan to 83°F (28°C) in Apr (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Panama City or Boquete: which is better for digital nomads?

Boquete is the city with the closest factor profile to Panama City in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-09-26)
[^15]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/panama-city