county
Bay County
Panama City Beach is the heart of it, and Bay County is the wider home around it: Panama City, Lynn Haven, Mexico Beach, Callaway, Parker, Springfield, and the unincorporated communities locals know by name.
The beach
Panama City Beach, Laguna Beach through Grand Lagoon.
The bay
St. Andrews and the working water behind Panama City.
Lynn Haven
Its own city, north of the bay.
Mexico Beach
A small Gulf city east of the bay, still in Bay County.
The home county: beach, bay, and the towns in between.
Bay County holds Panama City Beach, Panama City, Lynn Haven, Mexico Beach, and Callaway. Panama City, on the bay, is the county seat; Panama City Beach is the Gulf city; and the Hathaway Bridge connects them.
Bay County, Northwest Florida
175,216 · 2020 Census · U.S. Census, via the News Herald county count
Inside it
- Panama City Beach — Home base, with sugar sand and the Gulf.
- West Bay — North of the beach, near Highway 79 and the airport.
- Latitude Margaritaville Watersound — A 55-and-over community off SR 79, in Bay County.
- Wild Heron — A gated preserve on Lake Powell, in Bay County west of the beach.
- Panama City — The bay city: downtown, St. Andrews, and Millville.
- Lynn Haven — Its own city just north of Panama City, with its own city hall and high school.
- Mexico Beach — A small Gulf Coast city in eastern Bay County.
- Callaway — A city east of Panama City on Tyndall Parkway, toward Tyndall.
- Southport — North Bay's north shore, on SR 77 beside Deer Point Lake.