Florida · Salary guide
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL CPA Salary
CPA and accountant pay across the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro — percentiles and role-by-role estimates vs the national benchmark.
Median CPA pay · Panama City-Panama City Beach metro
$71,820
Midpoint for accountants & auditors
Typical range
$60.6K–$94.8K
Middle 50% (25th–75th percentile)
Top earners
$118K+
90th percentile and above
vs. national
-14.2%
Florida · vs U.S. median
Verified BLS wage benchmark for the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro · updated June 2026
How much does a CPA make in Panama City-Panama City Beach?
The verified BLS wage measurement for accountants and auditors in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro. The CPA-license premium layered on top is a labeled estimate.
vs. the U.S. benchmark
-14.2%
The Panama City-Panama City Beach metro vs the national median and -9.4% vs Florida statewide.
Florida guideLicensed CPA · modeled
$80,400
A modeled ~12% credential premium on the local median — the license consistently pays more.
What the license is worthTop earners · 90th pct
$118K+
The BLS-measured 90th percentile for accountants in this metro — model your own with your role and experience.
Model your payPanama City-Panama City Beach metro
verified local median
$71,820
-14.2%Florida statewide
verified state median
$79,250
-5.3%National benchmark
verified
$83,680
base
Panama City-Panama City Beach runs -14.2% vs the national median and -9.4% vs Florida statewide. All three are direct BLS wage measurements for accountants and auditors at their own area level.
Cost of living
Real pay in Panama City-Panama City Beach
What the Panama City-Panama City Beach median actually buys once local prices are accounted for. Nominal pay is the verified BLS figure; the buying-power view divides it by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity (2024) for the metro.
Nominal
$71.8K
Price level
97.3/100
Real pay
$73.8K
Local prices run 3% below the national average, so some of that pay is absorbed by higher local costs — Panama City-Panama City Beach slips 36 places once adjusted for buying power.
Real pay · BEA-adjustedA high nominal salary in an expensive metro can buy less than a smaller salary in a low-cost one. Real pay reorders the map by buying power — but it is not take-home pay: it excludes taxes, benefits, and housing choices.
See real pay across all metros →Best ways to use this page
- 1View percentiles
Find your percentile
See where your pay sits across the Panama City-Panama City Beach range, from entry level to top earners.
- 2See pay by role
Check your role
Pay climbs steeply from staff to controller. See the estimate for your title in this metro.
- 3Open the calculator
Model your own number
Set role, experience, license, and employer for a tailored estimate — equity and bonus broken out.
- 4Submit your pay
Add your salary
Anonymous, two minutes. Submissions are how role- and employer-level pay becomes real data.
Panama City-Panama City Beach metro · Accountants & auditors
Verified$34.53/hr median hourly · $78,970 average
Percentiles · Panama City-Panama City Beach
Verified| Percentile | Annual | Hourly | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $48,220 | $23.18/hr | Entry-level / lower pay |
| 25th percentile | $60,560 | $29.12/hr | Below median |
| Median (50th) | $71,820 | $34.53/hr | Typical pay |
| 75th percentile | $94,760 | $45.56/hr | Experienced / senior |
| 90th percentile | $117,980 | $56.72/hr | Top earners |
By role
CPA roles in Panama City-Panama City Beach
Median estimates by role, scaled to the metro wage level.
Median pay by role
In the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro, estimated pay runs from $102,000 (Accounting Manager) to $280,100 (Chief Financial Officer) — about 2.7× across the ladder.
| Role / level | Low | Est. median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer | $280,100 | ||
| Partner | $258,600 | ||
| Director of Finance | $176,000 | ||
| Senior Manager | $147,200 | ||
| Controller | $140,000 | ||
| Tax Manager | $111,300 | ||
| Audit Manager | $111,300 | ||
| Accounting Manager | $102,000 | ||
| Audit Senior | $79,000 | ||
| Tax Senior | $77,600 | ||
| Senior Accountant | $73,300 | ||
| Audit Associate | $59,600 | ||
| Tax Associate | $58,900 | ||
| Staff Accountant | $56,000 |
Role multipliers applied to the BLS national median for Accountants & Auditors. The low–high band is a modeled typical range, not a guaranteed offer.
By experience
CPA pay by experience in Panama City-Panama City Beach
The metro median scaled across experience bands, with the modeled CPA-license premium. Estimate.
| Experience | Est. median | CPA-licensed (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 years | $61,800 | $69,200 |
| 2–4 years | $68,900 | $77,200 |
| 5–7 years | $77,600 | $86,900 |
| 8–12 years | $86,200 | $96,500 |
| 13–20 years | $94,800 | $106,200 |
| 20+ years | $102,000 | $114,200 |
Experience multipliers on the area median; CPA column adds a modeled +12% credential premium.
By employer
CPA pay by employer type in Panama City-Panama City Beach
Big 4, national, regional, and local firms vs. industry — at a manager-level base on the metro median. Estimate.
| Employer type | Est. manager-level pay | vs. industry |
|---|---|---|
| Big 4 firm | $124,700 | +7.7% |
| National firm | $116,900 | +0.9% |
| Regional firm | $109,100 | -5.8% |
| Local firm | $102,400 | -11.6% |
| Industry / corporate | $115,800 | — |
Employer-type multipliers applied at a manager-level base on the BLS national median.
What affects pay
What drives CPA pay in Panama City-Panama City Beach
The same factors move pay within a metro. Use the calculator to model your own.
Panama City-Panama City Beach market
The Panama City-Panama City Beach metro’s measured accountant pay sits well below the national median, at -14.2%. Within the state it runs well below the Florida median (-9.4%) — it sits below the Florida median, meaning the state’s higher-paying work is concentrated in other metros. Metro pay reflects the local cost of labor and the density of large employers and public-accounting firms more than the job title itself. This is a direct BLS wage measurement for the metro, not an estimate scaled from the national figure.
Cost of labor
Panama City-Panama City Beach wages track the local cost of living and employer competition — denser, higher-cost metros pay above the statewide median.
Employer mix
Big 4 and national firms pay a brand premium; regional/local firms and government pay below industry roles at the same level.
Role & experience
Pay roughly doubles from staff to controller. The CPA license adds a modeled premium and unlocks senior roles.
Remote & hybrid
Remote roles can pay to a national band rather than the local one, widening access to higher-paying employers.
How to use these figures
Panama City-Panama City Beach metro figures here are a direct BLS wage measurement — but they cover accountants and auditors as a single occupation, so they are not specific to the CPA license, your role, or your employer. Use them as a local baseline, then model your own situation and submit a salary to sharpen the employer-level detail BLS does not publish.
Other metros
Compare nearby metro pay
CPA pay across other major metros — large, high-cost areas pay the strongest.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a CPA make in Panama City-Panama City Beach?
- The median accountant/auditor wage in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro is about $71,820 (-14.2% vs national). Licensed CPAs generally earn above this baseline.
- Does Panama City-Panama City Beach pay more than the rest of Florida?
- Large metros like Panama City-Panama City Beach typically pay above their statewide median due to higher cost of living and a denser concentration of large employers and public-accounting firms.
How to read these numbers
National, state, and metro pay comes straight from the federal wage measurement for accountants & auditors — direct and source-backed, not scaled from anything.
Role, experience, CPA-license, and employer figures are modeled on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate — the federal data does not break those out, so we never present them as measurements.
Add your Panama City-Panama City Beach salary
BLS measures the occupation, not your role, firm, or license. Submissions are what add that layer. Anonymous and quick.