PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA

'The City of Panama City Beach' (a/k/a Panama City Beach, or simply "PCB") is a separate incorporated city on the west side of the Hathaway Bridge just to the west of its sister city, the larger and older Panama City, in Bay County, Florida, United States. Panama City Beach's slogan is "The World's Most Beautiful Beaches" due to the unique sugar-white sandy beaches of the NW Florida "panhandle" area.

Contents

History

Real estate boom

Geography

Demographics

Trivia

External links

History

Panama City Beach was incorporated formally in 1969 as "The City of Panama City Beach" to distinguish it figuratively & legally from its larger & older neighbor Panama City, which itself was incorporated 16 years earlier. The city was created as a result of the merger of 4 communities; Long Beach, Edgewater, West Panama City Beach, and Panama City Beach. [1]
In the spring season, Panama City Beach turns into a spring break mecca, drawing high school and college students from all over the country, often in numbers that outstrip all other spring break destinations combined. The famous nightclub Club La Vela is located here, billed as the world's largest nightclub.
The summer is high season in Panama City Beach, drawing crowds of all kinds to enjoy its sugar-white beaches and warm, emerald waters. During the winter months, Panama City Beach is a popular destination for Americans from the northern U.S. as well as Canadians, or Snowbirds.

Real estate boom

A construction boom is raising the economic image of the area, known informally as the "Redneck Riviera" due to the older homes & downtrodden motels, as pricey high-rise condominiums and luxury homes replace the older structures. However, this is turning unobstructed, low-rise beach views and affordable waterfront property into rarities. Many beachfront properties have quadripled or more in value since 2000, so much so that CNN/Money named Panama City Beach as the #1 real estate market in America for the next 5 years in November 2006.[2] Beachfront property has sold for upwards of $60,000 per "front foot" (linear foot) at the top of the market. The downturn in the USA real estate market in 2007, combined with a flux of new condo construction have brought spiraling prices somewhat under control, but they are still at lofty levels from their pre-boom days of the 1990's, yet still undervalued compared to other NW Florida coastal cities like Destin.[3]

Geography

Panama City Beach is located at (30.207362, -85.851485). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.0 square miles (18.2 km²)— 6.9 square miles (18.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.42%) is water. There is approximately 27 miles of shoreline in Panama City Beach with approximately half of it fronting the Gulf of Mexico.[4]

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,671 people, 3,529 households, and 2,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,104.9 persons per square mile (426.8/km²). There were 8,910 housing units at an average density of 1,283.4 houses per square mile (495.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.21% White, 0.87% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population.
Households in Panama City Beach are predominantly married couples without children or POSSLQs. There were 3,529 households out of which 19.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.66.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,198, and the median income for a family was $49,127. Males had a median income of $32,459 versus $22,358 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,734. About 2.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
According to the 2005 U.S. Census Bureau's Estimates, the beach area continues to grow very rapidly at 11,477.
Major employers in Panama City Beach include the Coastal Systems Station-Naval Surface Warfare Center, St. Joe, Nextel as well as tourism and hospitality industries.

Trivia

★ The final episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'' was broadcast from there in March 2001.

★ The Florida ''Ironman Triathlon'' has been taking place here in November every year since 1999.

★ The Black Lips song, "Dirty Hands" makes fun of spring breakers at Panama City Beach, with the line "Bobby got a tatoo of a dolphin on his belly button and I got a tattoo that said Panama City Beach 3003"

External links

★ City of Panama City Beach official site

★ Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce

★ Panama City Beach Visitors Guide to Paradise

★ Panama City Beach Florida local guide

★ Panama City Beach travel guide

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★ Panama City Beach information