Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Salvador vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 18.1% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 26.9% less in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 10.2% less in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 4.9% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 17.4% less in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 62.5% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.0% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 13.7% more in San Salvador

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

San Salvador vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.9% less for restaurants

	Panama City	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 PAB10.00	$7.00 SVC61.08	-30.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$7.00 SVC61.08	-12.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 PAB1.70	$1.14 SVC9.90	-33.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 PAB1.33	$0.91 SVC7.95	-31.7%
Average			-26.9%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.2% less for groceries

	Panama City	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$2.56 PAB2.56	$1.95 SVC17.01	-23.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 PAB5.81	$3.77 SVC32.86	-35.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.82 PAB6.82	$6.84 SVC59.68	+0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 PAB2.84	$3.01 SVC26.26	+5.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.29 PAB3.29	$2.99 SVC26.05	-9.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.65 PAB1.65	$1.77 SVC15.46	+7.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 PAB0.70	$0.76 SVC6.60	+7.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$1.17 SVC10.17	-16.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.46 PAB1.46	$1.22 SVC10.61	-16.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 PAB1.00	$0.97 SVC8.44	-2.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PAB1.37	$0.98 SVC8.51	-28.6%
Average			-10.2%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.9% more for transportation

	Panama City	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.44 PAB3.44	$3.82 SVC33.34	+11.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 PAB22.50	$15.00 SVC130.88	-33.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$25,500.00 SVC222,494.28	+29.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.50 PAB26.50	$29.93 SVC261.12	+12.9%
Average			+4.9%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.4% less for housing

	Panama City	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.20 PAB49.20	$43.33 SVC378.09	-11.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,164.71 PAB1,164.71	$900.00 SVC7,852.74	-22.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$953.85 PAB953.85	$758.33 SVC6,616.66	-20.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.90 PAB95.90	$82.16 SVC716.84	-14.3%
Average			-17.4%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 62.5% less for childcare

	Panama City	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$476.00 PAB476.00	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	-65.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,733.33 PAB15,733.33	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	-59.2%
Average			-62.5%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$2.00 SVC17.45	-33.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.61 PAB3.61	$3.25 SVC28.35	-10.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.92 PAB5.92	$4.00 SVC34.90	-32.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.86 PAB43.86	$30.80 SVC268.74	-29.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.00 PAB8.00	$5.25 SVC45.81	-34.4%
Average			-28.0%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.7% more for clothing

	Panama City	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.00 PAB50.00	$62.60 SVC546.20	+25.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.50 PAB47.50	$45.83 SVC399.91	-3.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.55 PAB89.55	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+47.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$126.88 PAB126.88	$109.17 SVC952.51	-14.0%
Average			+13.7%

Panama City vs. San Salvador - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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See the cost of living in Panama vs. El Salvador. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Panama and El Salvador.

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