Strong increase in households with people aged 65 and over in Puerto Rico

Announcements
IEPR
22 December 2025
PRESS RELEASE
PUERTO RICO STATE DATA CENTER NETWORK (SDC-PR)
Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

Strong increase in households with people aged 65 and over in Puerto Rico

It is estimated that in 50 municipalities, four out of ten households have this trait.

San Juan, PR, December 8, 2022 — The U.S. Census Bureau released today the most recent data from the Puerto Rico Community Survey. These statistics refer to information collected over a period of five years, from 2017 to 2021. The new publication provides data on demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics for Puerto Rico and municipalities, as well as for specific geographical levels such as neighborhoods and census tracts. As part of the U.S. State Data Center Network. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) presents several interesting results:

  1. During the period 2017-2021, four out of ten households in fifty municipalities had one or more people aged 65 or older. This trait was reflected in only twelve municipalities in the period 2012-2016.
  2. In a comparison of the previous five-year period 2012-2016, compared to the most recent period 2017-2021, estimates indicate that:
    • Among the total number of households in Puerto Rico, the percentage of households with one or more people aged 65 years or older increased from 35.1% to 40.6%, this change being statistically significant.
    • At the municipal level, the 78 municipalities showed an increase in this trait of households with one or more people aged 65 and over.
      • It should be noted that in 69 of the 78 municipalities, the increases were statistically significant.
      • The municipalities of Las Marías, Naranjito, Comerío, Aguada and Corozal showed the highest increase in this characteristic, this change being close to or greater than 10 percentage points.
    • On the other hand, the median income in Puerto Rico was reflected between periods;
      • A decrease in household income of 0.8% or from $22,136 to $21,967, not a statistically significant difference.
      • An increase in household income of 1.2% or from $26,439 to $26,745, a difference not statistically significant.

“The population aged 65 and over is increasingly present in the homes of our jurisdiction; this is partly a reflection of the peak of births that occurred in Puerto Rico in the 1940s and 1960s. Those generations active in our society require and will require support and services for their needs in the present and near future, whether from the immediate family circle, as well as from government programs aimed at this population, said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Senior Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

Tables with interesting characteristics can be accessed in the data dissemination tool of the U.S. Census Bureau data.census.gov. In addition, as the leading entity of the State Data Center of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as municipal profiles, estimated annual population; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's decennial population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: censo.estadisticas.pr.

Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

‍

Share this article:

Please let us know your satisfaction level with our services.

‍

Visit our Official Activities, and participate with us

Visit our Calls for applications and be part of the new opportunities we have for you.

If you have any questions or just want to contact us, visit the Contact Us section.

We are at your disposal. If you need custom statistics, do not hesitate to contact us.

Sign up for our online workshops. Connect with the experts and discover the power of data!

Visit our Blog and keep up to date with the latest news and topics of interest.

Visit our Press Releases and stay connected to the Institute.

Explore the Publication Calendar and keep up to date with Puerto Rico's statistics.

Complete the form for the selection of our Statistics Coordination Committee

Suscribe to receive news directly to your email.

Listen to the Official PRIS podcast and stay informed with the experts

Digital dashboard allows us to observe the demographic trends of Puerto Rico

San Juan, PR, May 22, 2025 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) published the Demographic Observatory, a summary table with graphs on demographic aspects of Puerto Rico. The tool visualizes a series of statistical indicators by demographic components, combining in a single instance the main sources of information that are usually separated. Through simple navigation, you can view recent statistics on Annual Population Estimates, Decennial Censuses, Vital Statistics with Fertility and Mortality indicators, as well as estimates of Migration by various characteristics.

El Demographic Observatory contains a total of twenty-three (23) graphics displayed in the following sections:

  • Panoramic, which is composed of five (5) graphs showing the trend of the total population, total births and deaths, natural growth and the structure by age and sex.
  • Fertility, which contains visualizations on the behavior of births by month, birth rate, fertility and specific fertility rates, births by method of delivery and number of abortions.
  • Mortality, which integrates graphs such as deaths by month, crude rates by sex, age group and total, maternal and child mortality rate, life expectancy at birth, as well as the percentage of deaths by cause and sex.
  • Migration, with estimates in recent years of the total immigrant and emigrant population and by age group, net migration and its percentage within the total population, migrants with post-secondary education or more and net movement of passengers.
  • Notes, which contains information about the concepts and their definitions in the included graphics, the sources of information and technical or explanatory notes.

El Demographic Observatory is available on the Institute's Census Data and Information page (SDC-PR) at https://censo.estadisticas.pr/node/535. “Fulfilling our mission to guarantee complete, reliable statistics with quick and universal access, we have created a series of simple visualizations that allow us to observe the demographic behavior of the jurisdiction, thus promoting informed and evidence-based decision-making,” said Lanselotte Oliveras, Assistant for Statistical Projects at the Institute.

For his part, Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Senior Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute, said, “The Demographic Observatory manages to visually centralize several demographic trends in Puerto Rico as conceptualized. In this sense, people can directly consult the behavior of relevant demographic traits that are frequently requested.”

As the leading entity of the State Data Center of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau about Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's decennial population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: www.estadisticas.pr or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

‍

Statistics Institute and U.S. Census Bureau announce the inclusion of Puerto Rico in migration statistics between counties or municipalities in the United States

Statistics Institute and U.S. Census Bureau announce the inclusion of Puerto Rico in migration statistics between counties or municipalities in the United States

Statistics Institute and Instituto Nueva Escuela manage to include Montessori schools and questions about the impact of Hurricane Maria in an important school survey

PRESS RELEASE

Statistics Institute and Instituto Nueva Escuela manage to include Montessori schools and questions about the impact of Hurricane Maria in an important school survey

The 2019 edition of the YRBSS for Puerto Rico included students from Montessori schools for the first time and asked about the effects of the hurricane on these students

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute joined forces with the Instituto Nueva Escuela, achieving for the first time that Montessori schools are included in the 2019 edition of the survey Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YBSS). The YRBSS is a survey conducted every two years to students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 across the United States and its jurisdictions, including Puerto Rico. The questions cover various topics related to students' health and risk behaviors, and as a result, statistics are produced on bullying, electronic harassment, violent behavior, sexual behavior, drug use and on students' eating habits, among others.

In addition, it was possible to include five additional questions, related to the impact of Hurricane Maria on students, from all the schools participating in the study in Puerto Rico. Approximately 1,498 students from public schools in Puerto Rico participated in the self-administered survey, and of these, a total of 110 students belonged to Montessori schools, of which 53% were male, 47% female, and 27.2%, 54.5%, 16.0% and 2.3% were in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12, respectively. Although it is expected that by the end of this year the Institute of Statistics and the Instituto Nueva Escuela will produce an official and detailed statistical report on the results of this survey, here are some preliminary results regarding hurricane questions in students under the Montessori philosophy:

  • 80.4% of students reported that they spent a month or more without electricity in their homes.
  • 98.9% of students reported feeling sad or hopeless after the impact of Hurricane Maria and due to the lack of electricity.
  • 47.1% of students reported that they spent a month or more without drinking water service in their homes.
  • 100% of the students reported feeling sad or hopeless after the impact of Hurricane Maria and due to the lack of drinking water.
  • 77.7% of students reported that they were unable to attend school for a month or more because it was closed or unable to reach or access it.

“These preliminary results show us the enormous impact that the passage of Hurricane Maria had on these Montessori school students. In previous editions, these students, under the Montessori philosophy, were left out of this important survey. However, thanks to the teamwork of both institutes, we have been able to make them visible,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Institute of Statistics.

For their part, Dr. Ana María García Blanco, executive director of the Instituto Nueva Escuela, and Mr. Cesar Ostolaza of the Evaluation and Research Division said: “We are very happy with the invitation from Dr. Orville M. Disdier to participate in this study. It is important to have reliable data in the face when making decisions about the practices and services we will provide to our students. Their voices are essential in defining the public policies for which we are choosing. It is imperative to take into account the emotional state of young people, especially based on the natural and social phenomena they have been through when it comes to “building” a school. It is with them and from them that we must build it.”

The Instituto Nueva Escuela is a non-profit entity that seeks to transform the public education system in Puerto Rico through Montessori philosophy and methodology. For its part, the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico is a governmental entity with fiscal and administrative autonomy with the mission of coordinating the statistical production service of government entities. To learn more about the Instituto Nueva Escuela you can access the website: www.inepr.com. To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

###

Contacts: Idia M. Martínez, R‐28, 787‐603‐3200, and Lourdes Burgos, R‐27, 787‐562‐2932

‍