Panama City Beach, FL short-term rental market report (2026)
Bay County, Florida. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesModerate (3/5)
- Average revenue$61K a year
- 4-BR typical value$414K
- Gross yield14.7%
- FEMA riskRelatively Moderate
- Demand drivers within 50 mi4
Everything STR HUB holds on Panama City Beach, FL in one place, in the order an investor needs it: whether you can operate, what the numbers are, why and when people come, who can reach it, and what could go wrong.
Every figure comes from a named dataset listed under Sources and method, dated September 21, 2026. Where we do not hold a figure, that part of the report is left out rather than estimated.
Can you operate in Panama City Beach?
What the rating rests on: annual fire safety inspections for all vacation rental properties.
Rules change, and a city rating does not cover HOA or deed restrictions. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before you buy or list.
Which way the rules are moving
Stable. The rules we hold report no recent or pending change.
Classified from the regulation text we publish; a direction is only kept when the sentence it rests on appears word for word in that text.
The numbers
Revenue
Gross market averages from STR HUB market analytics, the same figures shown on the market page. They are before cleaning, management, utilities, taxes and financing, and an individual property can earn more or less.
Home values in Bay County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Bay County, not list prices. A specific property can sit well above or below them.
Gross yield
Gross yield is before every operating cost and before financing. It is a screening ratio, not a cash-on-cash return.
What it costs to own
Screening figures, not a bill or a quote. The tax rate is a county-wide median for owner-occupied homes (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018-2022); second homes and rentals are often taxed more heavily, and a purchase usually resets the assessed value. Expected annual loss is from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Housing market momentum
County-level, for-sale housing market: it says nothing directly about STR bookings. A relative ranking among tracked markets, not a forecast. Sources: Realtor.com Economic Research, U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow Home Value Index.
Why people come
4 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Panama City Beach. Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Attractions
- Scenic Highway 30A / Seaside
- When
- March to early August, with a strong October.
- STR angle
- A string of master-planned New Urbanist beach villages between Destin and Panama City Beach that command some of the highest nightly rates on the Gulf. Walton County is rental-friendly; large houses near a beach access with bikes and a pool are the template.
Parks and public lands
- St. Andrews State Park
- When
- Gulf beach season, spring break through summer is peak.
- Attendance
- 750,000 (750,000 visitors in 2005, per Wikipedia infobox (visitation_num/visitation_year fields); old figure, likely outdated given Panama City Beach's tourism growth since.)
- STR angle
- A top Gulf-coast state park inside Panama City Beach reinforces one of Florida's largest beach-condo/STR markets.
- Destin
- When
- Spring through summer (Mar-Aug) is peak, aligned with Emerald Coast beach season.
- STR angle
- The 'World's Luckiest Fishing Village' anchors a high-end Emerald Coast condo and beach-house STR market.
- Panama City Beach
- When
- Spring break (Mar) through summer (Jun-Aug) is peak.
- STR angle
- A top spring-break and family beach destination on the Florida Panhandle with an extensive high-rise condo/STR market.
When they come
Year-round climate: at least nine months of the year have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. 12 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: August (average high 86°F). Coldest: January (average low 49°F).
- Jan62°49°Comfortable
- Feb65°53°Comfortable
- Mar70°59°Comfortable
- Apr74°62°Comfortable
- May80°70°Comfortable
- Jun85°76°Comfortable
- Jul85°78°Comfortable
- Aug86°79°Comfortable
- Sep85°74°Comfortable
- Oct79°66°Comfortable
- Nov70°56°Comfortable
- Dec64°52°Comfortable
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 62 | 65 | 70 | 74 | 80 | 85 | 85 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 70 | 64 |
| Average low (°F) | 49 | 53 | 59 | 62 | 70 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 74 | 66 | 56 | 52 |
| Precipitation (in) | 6.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 6.2 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 4.9 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 7.8 | 7.9 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 11.1 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 8.9 | 7.7 |
This is climate and events, not booking data. Monthly normals are 2019-2023 averages from the Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (ERA5 reanalysis) at the market pin. We do not hold monthly occupancy or rate data for this market.
Who can reach it
Largest counties within 150 miles
| County | Population |
|---|---|
| Mobile County, AL | 413,878 |
| Escambia County, FL | 321,296 |
| Leon County, FL | 294,128 |
County populations (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018-2022) summed for every county whose centre lies within each straight-line radius. Straight lines are shorter than roads, so read these as generous upper bounds, not drive-time counts.
What could go wrong
| Hazard | FEMA rating | Score (0-100) |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Very High | 98.7 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 94.1 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 77.2 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 75.7 |
| River flooding | Relatively Moderate | 74.7 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 54.9 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 32.6 |
| Hail | Very Low | 20.4 |
This is a county-level index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination. A coastal or wildfire-fringe rental can carry far more exposure than its county average suggests. Get property-level flood, wind and wildfire quotes before you buy.
Market context
Housing and jobs in Bay County
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2018-2022. Vacation-home share is housing units held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. All three describe the whole county, not one town or neighbourhood.
What is within 15 km of the Panama City Beach pin
Counts of features mapped in OpenStreetMap within 15 km of the market pin. A fixed radius favours dense metros, and map coverage varies by area.
Similar markets
The 4 tracked markets whose numbers sit closest to Panama City Beach's. Each links to its own report.
Closest by normalised distance across the figures both markets hold (typical 4BR value, revenue, occupancy, regulation rating, vacation-home share, tourism job share, 4+ bedroom share, amenity score, population within 300 miles, comfortable months and FEMA risk score). At most 2 of the 4 come from Florida, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Panama City Beach on the map
Open Panama City Beach on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Panama City Beach STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Panama City Beach?
STR HUB rates Panama City Beach's short-term rental rules 3/5 (Moderate) on a scale from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (very strict). That rating was derived from the regulation text we hold and has not yet been reviewed by a person. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does an Airbnb make in Panama City Beach?
The average short-term rental in Panama City Beach, FL grosses $61,000 a year, on a $245 average nightly rate and 68% occupancy. That ranks #39 of the 88 tracked markets with revenue data. It is a gross market average before cleaning, management, taxes and financing, and an individual property can earn more or less.
How much does a 4-bedroom home cost in Panama City Beach?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Bay County is valued at $414,355 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $344,049, with all-home values down 0.4% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in Panama City Beach?
14.7%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $61,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $414,355. It is before every operating cost and before financing, so treat it as a screening ratio, not a cash-on-cash return.
What brings visitors to Panama City Beach?
4 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Panama City Beach, including St. Andrews State Park (750,000 published attendance), Destin and Panama City Beach. Attendance is shown only where a source publishes it, and each driver's source is linked in the report.
Sources and method
- Regulation summary and strictness rating: STR Agent HUB regulation research.
- Revenue, nightly rate and occupancy: STR Agent HUB market analytics.
- Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), county level. Data provided by Zillow Group.
- Housing, employment and population figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2018-2022.
- Natural hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, county level.
- Amenity counts: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Climate normals: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (CC BY 4.0), 2019-2023 averages.
- Demand drivers: each entry links its own published source in the list above.
Figures come from the STR HUB national dataset dated September 21, 2026 and this page is regenerated whenever that dataset is rebuilt. County-level figures describe Bay County as a whole, not one street or neighbourhood. The Opportunity Score (0-100) is a screening heuristic that weighs revenue (35%), regulatory climate (25%), tourism employment (15%), nearby amenities (15%) and large-home supply (10%) relative to the other tracked markets.
Confirm before you act. Short-term rental rules change. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction, and work with a licensed local agent who knows which properties can legally operate. This report is screening data, not investment, legal or tax advice.
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