Panama cost of living
comparison with
Canada and Britain

It is hard to accurately compare prices, apart from basics such as eggs, milk etc. House prices in Canada for example vary widely between British Columbia where average house prices are above $500,000 to somewhere in mid Canada where the same house could cost $160.000.

As anyone can see from the list below Panama is very affordable – in fact you can buy products and housing for less than the figures shown. We have tried to be as fair and accurate as possible.

In the highlands of Panama you do not need air conditioning, fans or heating so the savings on electric are huge. We do have an electric washing machine and dryer, so our bill is normally around $35 a month.

Fruits and vegetables
are especially good as they are fresh from a few miles up the road.
Brocoli is .30 cents
cauliflower .35 cents, a pound.
Four bananas will cost you .10 cents.
Bananas are fresh and haven’t been gassed to make them ripen. Organic produce is available and is actually cheaper than normal produce.

There is no tax on food, all other products are charged 5 % sales tax, apart from alcohol which is charged with 10% sales tax.

Gasoline is currently $2.64 a gallon for the lower grade
Electricity a month is anywhere from $35 and up a month depending on how many appliances one has.
Water is 5.68 a month
Phone and internet is 30.05 a month, (you will be billed extra for local calls, cell calls and long distance.
A tank of propane gas is 5.00 dollars plus 5% sales tax.

If you have a retirement visa or are at retirement age, you are entitled to your discount on the following:electric, water and phone.

Some of the grocery stores will give you a 5% discount but most of them do not.

Weights and measures are done in the following: lbs, grams, kilos, gallons, feet, yards and meters. Property measurements are mostly done in meters and hectares. Items that are generally expensive are apples, usually .35 cents each, cosmetics, these are imported and about the same prices as in North America.

North American style stores are here such as Pricesmart and they have an excellent selection of fresh meats, fish and produce.

One thing you can say for certain, all the grocery items you want and need are here and as the survey shows, the prices are most probably lower than back home.

Lydia Dell
Volcan
Panama.