San Juan, Puerto Rico — November 6, 2025 — The Institute of Statistics released the results of the Backwater Index for Puerto Rico, a study that offers a comprehensive look at the social and economic situation of Puerto Rico's municipalities. This index constitutes an analysis and planning tool that seeks to promote dialogue, reflection and informed action for the benefit of Puerto Rico's socioeconomic development.

El Lagging Index measures a multidimensional phenomenon using a summary data that allows us to compare the relative performance of municipalities in two dimensions: Economic Mobility and Demography. Five main variables were considered in its design: the percentage of people below the poverty level, the unemployment rate, the percentage of high school graduates (in a population aged 18 and over), the dependency rate by age and the median age.

The index was calculated for two comparative periods: 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, allowing us to observe changes in scores and relative positions of municipalities over time. Index values fluctuate between 0 and 1, with a higher score representing a higher relative level of lagging.

The analysis reveals that 42 municipalities showed a decrease in their score of the Lagging Index, which suggests a relative improvement in the conditions measured by the indicator. Of these, 22 municipalities registered a reduction of more than 5%. In the same way, there are concentrations of municipalities with higher scores —indicating greater relative lagging— in the center, south, southwest and southeast regions of Puerto Rico, while several municipalities in the metropolitan area and adjacent to it showed progress compared to the rest of the archipelago.

The municipalities of Culebra, Toa Alta, Gurabo, Juncos, Dorado, Trujillo Alto, Santa Isabel, Canóvanas, Toa Baja and Las Piedras performed better in their relative index in the last period analyzed (2019-2023). However, the Institute stresses that the index is a relative measure and not an absolute measure, so the results must be analyzed within the context and used as a basis for the development of more specific analyses.

“The value of the index is not in pointing out which municipality is better or worse, but in providing an objective basis for analysis, planning and decision-making. It is an opportunity for mayors and officials who participate in decision-making to know their social and economic reality and to develop strategies that respond to the specific needs of their municipalities,” said Dr. Ronald Hernández, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico.

For the elaboration of the Lagging Index, the Institute applied rigorous statistical methods —including exploratory factor analysis, normalization and aggregation of variables—using data from the five-year estimates of the Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau And the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Data

Table 1 shows the results of the Lagging Index at the municipal level for the periods 2014 - 2018 and 2019 - 2023. The table is ordered according to the position of the municipalities based on their index value for the period 2019 — 2023. The higher the index score, the worse or less favorable the outcome of the phenomenon.

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Table 1: Lagging Index Results

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According to Dr. Hernández, the results of the study highlight the need to design comprehensive public policies that address both the economic aspects and the demographic transformations of Puerto Rico. “The improvements seen in several municipalities are encouraging, but it is essential that socio-economic development efforts are integrated with strategies to respond to the ongoing demographic transition. This includes strengthening geriatric health services, care policies, retention of young people and urban planning adapted to long-lived communities,” said the Institute.”

Hernández indicated that, the Municipal Backwater Index seeks to promote an evidence-based dialogue between the different sectors of Puerto Rico. Its purpose is to serve as a planning and evaluation instrument, which facilitates the identification of areas of opportunity and guides investment decisions, municipal planning and public policy at the central and local levels.”

The full report of the Municipal Backwater Index is available in: Backwater Index for Puerto Rico

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.

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