Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Italy

Rome vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Rome is 10.5% more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 37.8% more in Rome
Groceries: pay 17.4% less in Rome
Transportation: pay 68.4% more in Rome
Housing: pay 2.9% more in Rome
Childcare: pay 25.2% more in Rome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% more in Rome
Clothing: pay 6.0% less in Rome

The cost of transportation, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing in Rome are more expensive than in Panama City. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Rome.

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Rome vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Rome instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.8% more for restaurants

	Panama City	Rome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.50 PAB11.50	$16.80 €14.95	+46.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$11.20 €9.97	+40.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 PAB1.97	$2.96 €2.63	+50.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.60 PAB1.60	$1.48 €1.32	-7.5%
Average			+37.8%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.4% less for groceries

	Panama City	Rome
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 PAB2.52	$2.22 €1.98	-11.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$7.42 €6.61	+20.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$6.49 €5.77	-8.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 PAB2.75	$4.66 €4.15	+69.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.07 PAB3.07	$5.66 €5.03	+84.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 PAB1.87	$1.17 €1.04	-37.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 PAB0.82	$1.05 €0.94	+28.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.92 PAB1.92	$1.09 €0.97	-43.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.07 €0.96	-42.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 PAB1.55	$0.64 €0.57	-58.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.96 PAB1.96	$0.72 €0.64	-63.4%
Average			-17.4%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of groceries

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pay 68.4% more for transportation

	Panama City	Rome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.62 PAB4.62	$8.04 €7.16	+74.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.00 PAB21.00	$39.19 €34.88	+86.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	$35,551.60 €31,642.21	+67.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.98 PAB16.98	$20.16 €17.94	+18.7%
Average			+68.4%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.9% more for housing

	Panama City	Rome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.70 PAB48.70	$31.87 €28.36	-34.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	$1,208.81 €1,075.88	-4.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$874.18 PAB874.18	$873.39 €777.35	-0.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.29 PAB100.29	$157.13 €139.85	+56.7%
Average			+2.9%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of housing

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pay 25.2% more for childcare

	Panama City	Rome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$487.21 €433.63	-10.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	$16,862.20 €15,007.96	+74.9%
Average			+25.2%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Rome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 PAB3.30	$5.60 €4.98	+69.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.11 PAB4.11	$2.07 €1.84	-49.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.00 PAB6.00	$7.28 €6.48	+21.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.40 PAB46.40	$65.43 €58.24	+41.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 PAB8.50	$11.20 €9.97	+31.7%
Average			+15.3%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.0% less for clothing

	Panama City	Rome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.67 PAB66.67	$71.31 €63.47	+7.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.43 PAB48.43	$36.31 €32.32	-25.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.62 PAB94.62	$83.63 €74.43	-11.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67 PAB111.67	$123.17 €109.63	+10.3%
Average			-6.0%

Panama City vs. Rome - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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