Panama City Beach, Florida

Not to be confused with Panama City, Florida.

Panama City Beach, Florida
—  City  —
View of the beach looking northwest from St. Andrews State Park
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The World's Most Beautiful Beaches The Wreck Capitol of the World
Location in Bay County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 30°10′36″N 85°48′20″W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Bay
Incorporated	1977
Government
• City Manager	Richard Jackson
Area
• Total	7.0 sq mi (18.2 km2)
• Land	6.9 sq mi (18.0 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	12,018
• Density	1,104.9/sq mi (426.8/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP	32401, 32407, 32408, 32413, 32417
Area code(s)	850
FIPS code	12-54725
GNIS feature ID	0308451
Website	http://www.pcbgov.com = http://www.visitpanamacitybeach.com

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.

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 (30.207362, -85.851485). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.0 square miles (18 km²)— 6.9 square miles (18 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (1.42%) is water. There are approximately 9 miles (14 km) of shoreline in Panama City Beach 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%
2010	12,018		56.7%
Population 1960-2000.

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,018 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/km²). There were 17,141 housing units at an average density of 1,283.4 houses per square mi The racial makeup of the city was 89.5% White,2.7% Asian, 2.3% African American, 0.6% Native American,and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.8% of the population.

Ancestries: English (17.7%), German (17.4%), Irish (14.8%), United States (11.1%), Italian (3.6%), French (3.1%).

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 has 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)
• John Reichard – Ward 1 Council member (Term Expires in 2014)
• Rick Russell – Ward 2 Council member (Term Expires in 2012)
• Josie B. Strange – Ward 3 Council member (Term Expires in 2014)
• Ken Nelson – Ward 4 Council member (Term Expires in 2012)

City management

• Richard Jackson – City Manager
• Holly J. White – City Clerk
• Lorenzo Faciane – City Comptroller
• Mandy Williamson – Clerk of Courts

Services

• Panama City Beach Police Department
• Panama City Beach Fire Rescue
• Dan Rowe – President and CEO, Panama City Beach CVB
• Susan Estler – Vice-President, Marketing, Panama City Beach CVB

Education

Primary and secondary public education is provided by the Bay District Schools (BDS).

The Gulf Coast State College (GCSC) 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

The new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport provides commercial flights into the area. The airport serves private aircraft, domestic passenger flights, and freight/cargo flights. It is the first international airport to be constructed after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Major highways

• US 98 is an east-west highway running along the Gulf Coast. It is the main route to Destin and Perry, Florida.
• Florida State Road 79 is a north-south highway that starts in Panama City Beach and heads north to Interstate 10 and on to the Alabama state line.
• Florida State Road 30, formerly US 98 Alt, also named Front Beach Road, is an east-west highway that runs mostly along the beach front, beginning and ending at US 98.

Recreation

• Frank Brown Park

Gallery

• 

  Emerald Waters

• 

  Clear Emerald Waters From Pier Park's Pier

• 

  Ripley's Believe it or Not!

• 

  Looking down on Front Beach Road

External links

• Panama City Calendar Panama City Florida Calendar of Events
• Travel Resource The Official Travel Resource for Panama City Beach, Fla