Bay County

County Business Patterns, 2023Largest of 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL metro areaPopulation 192,422

Bay County had 62,282 private jobs in 5,306 establishments in March 2023, paying $48,032 on average, 20% below the Florida figure. Jobs in utilities are 1.8 times as common here as across the 67 counties, 0.7% of all local jobs.

Compare Bay side by side with St. Johns or another county.

The largest industry, hotels and restaurants, has 19% of Bay County's jobs. Among its larger industries, pay runs from $30,200 a year in hotels and restaurants to $106,329 in utilities.

Pays above the county averagePays below itNot shown by industryCounty averageFlorida average

What stands out in Bay County

Total payroll rose 22.6% from 2019 in current dollars, the 7th-slowest increase in the state.
Average pay rose 16.5% since 2019 in current dollars, the 7th-smallest increase in Florida.
January to March accounts for 23.9% of the year's payroll, the 8th-lowest first-quarter share in the state.

Where Bay County ranks

The four measures on which Bay County sits furthest from the middle county. It is furthest out on businesses per 1,000 residents, where it ranks 14th of 67.

Jobs per 1,000 residents324

16thof 67

Payroll per resident$15,547

19thof 67

Businesses per 1,000 residents27.6

14thof 67

Job growth since 2019+5.2%

52ndof 67

BayOther countiesMiddle county

Every industry, line by line

18 industries published; administrative and support services added the most jobs since 2019 (1,527), professional, scientific and technical services lost the most (967).

Industry	Jobs	Avg pay	Pay vs same industry statewide	Jobs since 2019
Hotels & restaurants	12,081	$30,200	1.06×	+7.3%
Retail trade	11,572	$37,234	0.98×	+1.1%
Health care & social assistance	8,860	$62,135	0.96×	−8.7%
Construction	5,193	$57,922	0.90×	+21.0%
Administrative & support services	4,580	$36,675	0.63×	+50.0%
Manufacturing	3,869	$62,082	0.91×	+4.7%
Professional & technical services	3,643	$69,114	0.77×	−21.0%
Other services	2,638	$34,964	0.89×	+11.9%
Wholesale trade	2,024	$67,007	0.84×	+1.3%
Transportation & warehousing	1,684	$52,510	0.87×	+24.2%
Finance & insurance	1,608	$80,623	0.76×	+2.4%
Real estate & rental	1,598	$47,278	0.77×	+34.6%
Arts & recreation	1,040	$31,039	0.72×	+19.1%
Information	676	$64,862	0.63×	−5.2%
Educational services	453	$31,360	0.64×	+23.1%
Utilities	417	$106,329	0.85×	+42.8%
Management of companies	206	$100,165	0.98×	−24.8%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	71	$48,493	1.08×	−42.3%
All industries	62,282	$48,032	0.80×	+5.2%

Withheld by the Census Bureau: Mining & quarrying.

What sets Bay County apart

Four industries are at least 1.25 times as common here as across the 67 counties; management of companies is the most under-represented, at 0.15×.

Business sizes

86.7% have fewer than 20 employees; 77 have 100 or more.

EmployeesEstablishments

1–42,901

5–91,014

10–19685

20–49492

50–99136

100–24962

250–49910

500–9995

1,000+withheld

Since 2019

Jobs +5.2%, residents +10.1% since March 2019.

Jobs62,2822019: 59,187+5.2%

Business establishments5,3062019: 4,673+13.6%

Average pay (nominal)$48,0322019: $41,234+16.5%

Residents192,4222019: 174,705+10.1%

Share of Florida

Fewer of Florida's jobs (0.77%) than of its residents (0.84%).

Residents0.84%

Businesses0.82%

Jobs0.77%

Payroll0.63%

Source: Census CBP 2023, 2022, 2019; Population Estimates. FIPS 12005. How to read County Business Patterns figures.