Cost of living comparison

Dominican Republic

compared to

Panama

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 49.0% more expensive than Santo Domingo.

Restaurants: pay 28.8% more in Panama City
Groceries: pay 60.7% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 6.4% less in Panama City
Housing: pay 92.7% more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 67.5% more in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.3% more in Panama City
Clothing: pay 10.2% more in Panama City

The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Panama City are more expensive than in Santo Domingo. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Panama City.

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Panama City vs. Santo Domingo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Santo Domingo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.8% more for restaurants

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.95 DOP611.16	$11.50 PAB11.50	+15.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.54 DOP463.46	$8.00 PAB8.00	+6.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 DOP63.95	$1.97 PAB1.97	+89.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 DOP35.01	$1.60 PAB1.60	+180.7%
Average			+28.8%

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.7% more for groceries

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.51 DOP93.03	$2.52 PAB2.52	+66.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 DOP222.50	$6.18 PAB6.18	+70.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.19 DOP318.59	$7.09 PAB7.09	+36.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.34 DOP143.71	$2.75 PAB2.75	+17.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.53 DOP155.32	$3.07 PAB3.07	+21.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 DOP88.96	$1.87 PAB1.87	+29.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 DOP22.53	$0.82 PAB0.82	+124.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 DOP75.89	$1.92 PAB1.92	+55.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 DOP51.09	$1.86 PAB1.86	+123.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 DOP56.14	$1.55 PAB1.55	+69.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 DOP61.45	$1.96 PAB1.96	+95.7%
Average			+60.7%

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.4% less for transportation

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.38 DOP330.30	$4.62 PAB4.62	-14.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$18.24 DOP1,120.45	$21.00 PAB21.00	+15.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,212.79 DOP1M	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	-8.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.22 DOP1,303.80	$16.98 PAB16.98	-20.0%
Average			-6.4%

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 92.7% more for housing

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.30 DOP2,230.04	$48.70 PAB48.70	+34.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$721.96 DOP44,352.33	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	+74.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.20 DOP21,513.82	$874.18 PAB874.18	+149.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$70.91 DOP4,356.44	$100.29 PAB100.29	+41.4%
Average			+92.7%

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 67.5% more for childcare

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.26 DOP15,497.20	$543.33 PAB543.33	+115.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,399.96 DOP455K	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	+30.3%
Average			+67.5%

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.49 DOP152.79	$3.30 PAB3.30	+32.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.27 DOP139.64	$4.11 PAB4.11	+80.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.32 DOP326.97	$6.00 PAB6.00	+12.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.64 DOP1,820.74	$46.40 PAB46.40	+56.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 DOP458.37	$8.50 PAB8.50	+13.9%
Average			+39.3%

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.2% more for clothing

	Santo Domingo	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.80 DOP2,813.91	$66.67 PAB66.67	+45.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.66 DOP2,866.62	$48.43 PAB48.43	+3.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.04 DOP5,346.99	$94.62 PAB94.62	+8.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.34 DOP7,638.61	$111.67 PAB111.67	-10.2%
Average			+10.2%

Santo Domingo 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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