Cost of Living inJuan Díaz, Panama

Panamá, Panama101KHigh income

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 2.16x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Panama: $36,395/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 54% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.

Overall
2.2x further
Prices are 54% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
4.3x further
Prices are 77% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
1.9x further
Prices are 49% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
2.3x further
Prices are 57% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

High
World Bank GNI

Happiness

6.4 / 10

#38 globally

GDP per Capita

$36,395
PPP, International $

City Population

101K

Child Education

Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.

Public schools

Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Panama; Juan Díaz-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.

Limited public-school fit

Quality

Limited public-school fit

Expat access

Possible for residents

conditional

Instruction

Spanish

Language fit is more manageable.

PISA / outcomes

Qualitative only

Using curated quality notes for now.

Why this quality rating

Panama’s public system is not the route most internationally mobile families use when they have other options.

Why the expat-access rating looks like this

Resident access is possible, but Spanish-medium instruction and weaker average quality make the public path less compelling for expats.

Homeschooling

Not explicitly addressed

Panama requires school attendance but does not specifically address homeschooling. Many expat families homeschool without interference. The school attendance law is not actively enforced for foreign residents.

Homeschool legality in Panama — check current regulations before committing.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

Childcare & Domestic Help

Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Panama.

Full-time nanny (5 days)

$900

Estimate-only country fallback

Live-in / 24-7 nanny

$1,800

Estimate-only country fallback

Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)

Getting Around

Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Juan Díaz is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Panama.

Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.

56 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Good

Good national coverage help, but households still pay a large share themselves.

Public care

Mixed

Broad public coverage and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs.

Private care

Limited

The private footprint is not very visible yet and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

UHC coverage

82/100

2023

Physicians

1.63/1k

2022

Hospital beds

1.95/1k

2023

Out of pocket

40%

2023

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

79.8 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

37/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

5.3/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Limited

Country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but the private footprint is still thin and price transparency is still sparse.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Published self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.

Facility coverage

Pharmacy: 28Clinic: 13Hospital: 10Dentist: 4Physiotherapy: 1

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Panama yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

Policentro de Salud Luis H. Moreno
Hospital · Emergency
Website
general
U.L.A.P.S. San Cristóbal
Hospital · Emergency
Policlínica Juan Díaz
Hospital · Emergency
Hospital Dr. Susana Jones Cano
Hospital · Emergency
Hospital Pacifica Salud
Hospital · Emergency
Instituto Nacional de Salud Mental
Hospital · Emergency

System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01

Safety & Governance

City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Juan Díaz yet. Showing Panama national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.

Street Safety

Safety Index52/100
Crime Index48/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability+0.25

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

(national average)
Wage data shown is the national median. City-specific wage benchmarks are queued for the next quarterly update, so use this as a country-level salary anchor rather than a local labor-market quote.
SectorMedian
Administrative & Support Services
Agriculture & Farming
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
Construction
Education
Finance & Insurance
Healthcare & Social Work
Hospitality & Food Service
Information & Technology
Manufacturing
Mining & Quarrying
Other Services
Professional & Scientific Services
Public Administration & Defence
Real Estate
Retail & Wholesale Trade
Transport & Logistics
Utilities

2025 annual wages in Juan Díaz, Panama · Source: ILO ILOSTAT

Price Comparison vs. US

budget hotel
$13.00Estimated64% cheaper
childcare preschool
$500.00Estimated68% cheaper
eggs dozen
$2.93Estimated39% cheaper
gasoline liter
$0.91Estimated12% cheaper
inexpensive meal
$10.00Estimated53% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$48.08Estimated29% cheaper
International School (Annual)
$16500.00Estimated47% cheaper
luxury hotel
$173.33Estimated64% cheaper
milk liter
$1.85Estimated52% more
monthly pass
$21.00Estimated70% cheaper
rent 1br
$1320.00Estimated27% cheaper
rent 3br
$2181.92Estimated31% cheaper
utilities basic
$129.92Estimated39% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

visa freeUp to 180 days

US passport holders can stay up to 180 days without a visa.

Long-Term Visa Programs

digital nomad

Remote Worker Visa

9 monthsRenewableMin. $3,000/mo income

Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 21

Duration variesMin. $1,000/mo income
Duration variesMin. $2,500/mo income

Quick comparison FAQ

Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.

How far does your money go in Juan Díaz compared with the US?

Your money goes about 2.2x further in Juan Díaz than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Panama here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Juan Díaz cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Juan Díaz is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 55% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Juan Díaz. We are using the country-level cost index for Panama here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Juan Díaz compare with New York City?

Rent in Juan Díaz is about 77% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Panama here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Juan Díaz?

Groceries in Juan Díaz are about 49% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 57% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Panama here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Juan Díaz

Juan Díaz is a corregimiento and large urban district in the eastern part of Panama City in Panama, on the Pacific coast east of the historic core and Costa del Este. It is one of the most populous districts of the capital and combines residential subdivisions, industrial and warehouse parks along the Corredor Sur, and the Tocumen International Airport just to its east, which serves as the main hub of Copa Airlines and the principal aviation gateway for Central America. The local economy is heavily logistics-, aviation-, and retail-oriented. Spanish is the working language with widespread English use. The climate is tropical, hot and humid year-round with a wet season from May to November. Cost of living is materially below most North American metros while keeping the capital's job market within direct commute by Metrobus and the Metro Line 2.