Six municipalities with at least 60% of their population living in poverty

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IEPR

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24 December 2025

PRESS RELEASE

PUERTO RICO STATE DATA CENTER NETWORK (SDC-PR)

Six municipalities with at least 60% of their population living in poverty

They are located in the center and south-west according to the Map Series of the Puerto Rico Census Data Network

San Juan, PR, November 17, 2020 — The percentage of people living in poverty shows that six municipalities have between 60% and 64% of their population with this characteristic. The geographical distribution shows that they are located in the center and southwest of Puerto Rico, these being Maricao, Guánica, Adjuntas, Lajas, Jayuya and Comerío. La Selected Indicator Map Series includes the information collected during the period 2014-2018 through the Community Survey carried out by U.S. Census Bureau. This series includes ten indicators on demographic, social and economic topics at the level of municipalities and neighborhoods in Puerto Rico.

In addition, with information from the same period (2014-2018), the Socio-Demographic Profiles of Puerto Rico's Electoral Districts Which are divided volume I and II, with the 8 Senate Districts and with the 40 Representative Districts respectively. These provide a detailed photograph of each electoral district with essential information to know the particularities of the population that resides in each of them.

Both new products (Map and Profile Series) are part of the publications of the Puerto Rico Census Data Network (SDC-PR by its acronym in English). All of them can be accessed free of charge on the SDC-PR censo.estadisticas.pr. As a local liaison entity with the U.S. Census Bureau, the Institute of Statistics shares several findings from the Selected Indicator Map Series:

Among the 10 municipalities with the highest percentage of children under 18, eight of them were in the southern and central region of Puerto Rico. On the other hand, the 4 municipalities with the lowest percentage of minors were Guaynabo, and to the west Rincón, Mayagüez and Hormigueros.
The highest percentages of the 18-64 year old population were in 7 municipalities, these being Toa Alta, Aguada, Morovis, and in the central-eastern area Cidra, Gurabo, Juncos and San Lorenzo. On the other hand, the municipalities with the lowest percentages of the population aged 18-64 are located mainly in the southwest (Hormigueros, San Germán, Sabana Grande, Lajas and Guánica) and to the east (Fajardo, Ceiba and Culebra).
The municipalities with the highest percentage of elderly people (65+) are shown to be in the western area of Hormigueros, San Germán, Lajas and Rincón.
Municipalities with the highest percentages (80%-84%) of people with a higher education level or higher are geographically concentrated in the metropolitan area, in addition to Santa Isabel on the south coast. On the other hand, the two municipalities with the lowest percentage of education attained are located in the midwest (Maricao and Las Marías).
As for the population with disabilities (reported on their own account), 6 of the 10 municipalities with the highest percentages (Cayey, Cidra, Comerío, Aguas Buenas, Naranjito and Orocovis) are geographically concentrated in the central area, and the other 4 municipalities are located in the south-west (Guánica, Sabana Grande, Hormigueros and Yauco). On the other hand, a concentration of municipalities in the south-east region reflected hundreds of children with disabilities (< 15%), with 9 of the 13 municipalities in this category including the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra.
In the metropolitan region, east and south, most of the municipalities with the highest percentage (50%-74%) of households with access to broadband internet are clustered. In a situation of lower access, some 4 municipalities in the western region showed that they had less than 35% of their homes with internet access, these being Lajas, Cabo Rojo, Maricao and Las Marías.
In percentage terms, the population in 37 municipalities around Puerto Rico was shown to have half of its population or more (50% +) living in poverty. Municipalities with the lowest percentage of people in poverty are located in the metropolitan area with the exception of the municipalities of San Juan and Cataño.
Regarding family income across municipalities, this indicates that about 7 municipalities (Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Dorado, Carolina, Toa Alta, Culebra and Bayamón) showed a median of between $30,000 and $39,000 in family income. The municipality with the highest median household income was Guaynabo ($44,000).
The highest percentage of people in the workforce (50%-57%) are mostly municipalities in the metropolitan area and the Northeast, where 11 of the 13 municipalities with this characteristic are located, Culebra and Juana Diaz the only ones outside these regions.

“The series of maps provides a geographical perspective on features of interest within Puerto Rico. The behavior of geographical patterns could support government and community management, analysis for decision-making, and stimulate research. In the same sense, the profiles of the electoral districts serve as basic metrics for current and future public policy that affects the residents of these regions.” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

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. In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in 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 annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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72,000 net passengers returned on domestic flights in the first 4 months of the year

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The data confirms the return of people after the passage of Hurricane Maria

San Juan, PR, July 13, 2017 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) today released updated data on the movement of air passengers on domestic flights up to the month of April 2018, as reported by airlines to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Here's a summary of the most striking results:

In the last 4 months of last year (September to December 2017), during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, about -200,000 net passengers departed on domestic flights.

In contrast, in the first 4 months of the year (January to April 2018), about 72,000 people arrived in Puerto Rico in net terms on domestic flights.

This represents a notable change from previous years. For example, for the same period last year (January to April 2017), instead of experiencing a net passenger arrival, almost -40,000 net air passengers had departed.

In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2017-18, there was a net movement of air passengers on domestic flights of almost -155 thousand air passengers. In the last 3 calendar years (2014, 2015 and 2016), the net movement of air passengers on domestic flights was an average departure of -89,000 passengers per year.

“We have been trying to identify a return pattern after Hurricane Maria for some time. Finally, these data confirm that trend. Although the figure does not indicate that a similar number of people have returned among those who left after the Hurricane, the data suggests that this return process has begun. We will have to see how the movement of passengers behaves during this summer to get a more complete picture. But, for now, these data suggest that for fiscal year 2017-18 there will be a net migration of approximately -150 to -170 thousand people. If so, this will represent an increase in the migratory wave that Puerto Rico had been experiencing before the Hurricane, which was around -90,000 people a year before the passage of Hurricane Maria. But, at the same time, it will represent a substantially lower increase than the -250,000 people that had been projected in the last Fiscal Plan,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

Data on the net movement of air passengers can be downloaded from: https://indicadores.pr/dataset/vuelos-pasajeros-aereos-y-carga-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. The IEPR has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on 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 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes (787) 688-0401

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La Ley Núm. 209-2003, según enmendada, creó al Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico como una entidad gubernamental autónoma con la encomienda de coordinar el servicio de producción de estadísticas del Gobierno para asegurar que los sistemas de recopilación de datos y estadísticas, en los que se basan las políticas públicas, estén completos, sean confiables y de acceso rápido y universal.

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