Cost of living comparison

Italy

compared to

Panama

Panama City vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 9.5% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants: pay 27.5% less in Panama City
Groceries: pay 21.1% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 40.6% less in Panama City
Housing: pay 2.8% less in Panama City
Childcare: pay 20.1% less in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.3% less in Panama City
Clothing: pay 6.3% more in Panama City

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

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Panama City vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.5% less for restaurants

	Rome	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.80 €14.95	$11.50 PAB11.50	-31.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.20 €9.97	$8.00 PAB8.00	-28.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.96 €2.63	$1.97 PAB1.97	-33.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.48 €1.32	$1.60 PAB1.60	+8.1%
Average			-27.5%

Rome vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.1% more for groceries

	Rome	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.22 €1.98	$2.52 PAB2.52	+13.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.42 €6.61	$6.18 PAB6.18	-16.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.49 €5.77	$7.09 PAB7.09	+9.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.66 €4.15	$2.75 PAB2.75	-41.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.66 €5.03	$3.07 PAB3.07	-45.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 €1.04	$1.87 PAB1.87	+59.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 €0.94	$0.82 PAB0.82	-21.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.09 €0.97	$1.92 PAB1.92	+76.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 €0.96	$1.86 PAB1.86	+72.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 €0.57	$1.55 PAB1.55	+140.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.72 €0.64	$1.96 PAB1.96	+173.0%
Average			+21.1%

Rome vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.6% less for transportation

	Rome	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.04 €7.16	$4.62 PAB4.62	-42.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$39.19 €34.88	$21.00 PAB21.00	-46.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,551.60 €31,642.21	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	-40.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.16 €17.94	$16.98 PAB16.98	-15.8%
Average			-40.6%

Rome vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8% less for housing

	Rome	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.87 €28.36	$48.70 PAB48.70	+52.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,208.81 €1,075.88	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	+4.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$873.39 €777.35	$874.18 PAB874.18	+0.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.13 €139.85	$100.29 PAB100.29	-36.2%
Average			-2.8%

Rome vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 20.1% less for childcare

	Rome	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$487.21 €433.63	$543.33 PAB543.33	+11.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,862.20 €15,007.96	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	-42.8%
Average			-20.1%

Rome vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Rome	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.60 €4.98	$3.30 PAB3.30	-41.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 €1.84	$4.11 PAB4.11	+98.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.28 €6.48	$6.00 PAB6.00	-17.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.43 €58.24	$46.40 PAB46.40	-29.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 €9.97	$8.50 PAB8.50	-24.1%
Average			-13.3%

Rome vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.3% more for clothing

	Rome	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.31 €63.47	$66.67 PAB66.67	-6.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.31 €32.32	$48.43 PAB48.43	+33.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.63 €74.43	$94.62 PAB94.62	+13.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$123.17 €109.63	$111.67 PAB111.67	-9.3%
Average			+6.3%

Rome vs. Panama City - 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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