Sapp House · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Reported crime per resident in Panama City fell 52% from 2023 to 2025
Violent crime here is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns; property crime, higher than in 78%. Across all the graded crimes, Panama City lands on D (#106 of 128 graded towns in Florida): more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. What’s more, the local count comes to 5.6 violent crimes and 20.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 3.3 and 17.2 in the rest of Florida.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of FL” is every other Florida city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Panama City
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 Florida towns on Panama City’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Lynn Haven (B+), Springfield (D). Pretty Bayou and Cedar Grove are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
A job center
Panama City has 32,280 jobs based in town for 37,806 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Panama City’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Panama City property | Rest of Florida property | Panama City violent | Rest of Florida violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 29.1 | 22.1 | 6.8 | 4.4 |
| 2023 | 25.8 | 19.2 | 7.3 | 3.6 |
| 2024 | 21.9 | 18.4 | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| 2025 | 13.0 | 14.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Florida.
Crime in Panama City per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Panama City | Rest of Florida | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.8 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 7.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Panama City’s police reported 616 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of Florida and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
612 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
116 violent and 496 property, as reported to the FBI by Panama City’s police.
37 people died in crashes on Panama City’s roads in 2019–2023
Panama City had 37 fatal crashes in five years, in which 37 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 4 were cyclists.
That is 21.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Florida towns of 25,000–100,000 people (9.7, 147 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Panama City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City | D | 5.6 | 20.1 |
| Pretty Bayou | — | — | — |
| Cedar Grove | — | — | — |
| Lynn Haven | B+ | 1.1 | 7.0 |
| Springfield | D | 6.4 | 19.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Pretty Bayou and Cedar Grove are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Florida towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City | D | 5.6 | 20.1 |
| Oviedo | B+ | 1.1 | 5.8 |
| Dunedin | B+ | 0.8 | 8.2 |
| Leesburg | C− | 3.4 | 19.2 |
| Aventura | C− | 1.3 | 36.0 |
| Riviera Beach | D− | 9.0 | 30.7 |
The five graded Florida towns closest to Panama City’s population (37,806), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Panama City. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Panama City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (38,146 in 2025); our figure for Panama City is 37,806 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Panama City
Is Panama City, FL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Panama City reports more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #106 of 128 in Florida. Its police reported 5.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of Florida and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Panama City?
5.6 violent and 20.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Florida reports 3.3 and 17.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Panama City in 2025?
Panama City’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 10.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Panama City safer than Lynn Haven?
Lynn Haven reports less crime per resident than Panama City: Lynn Haven grades B+ for safety and Panama City D. Lynn Haven’s police reported 1.1 violent and 7.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Panama City?
Panama City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Panama City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Panama City.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.