Cost of living in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico at a glance

Median rent

$578

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$26,297

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$131,500

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$646

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

28 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

10.7%

Census ACS, DP03

Puerto Rico's own published state rows, never an average of its counties.

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in Puerto Rico

These are the most populous places in Puerto Rico, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• San Juan Municipio

  Population

  336K

  Rent

  $611

  Household income

  $27,992

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $819

  Set as targetPlan

• Bayamón Municipio

  Population

  182K

  Rent

  $703

  Household income

  $31,354

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $612

  Set as targetPlan

• Carolina Municipio

  Population

  152K

  Rent

  $677

  Household income

  $36,958

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $736

  Set as targetPlan

Puerto Rico, worth the trip

A United States territory since 1898 and a commonwealth since 1952. Christopher Columbus anchored off the island on November 19, 1493, and named it San Juan Bautista. Juan Ponce de León received permission to explore the island in 1508 and founded Caparra, its first town.

• San Juan National Historic Site

  The forts of San Juan, where generations of soldiers lived and worked, now a World Heritage Site.

• El Yunque National Forest

  The only tropical rain forest in the National Forest System, almost 29,000 acres in northeastern Puerto Rico.

• Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge

  Salt flats, pink lagoons, mangroves and dry forest, with trails, an observation tower and many shorebirds.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Puerto Rico

Current owners in Puerto Rico pay a median 0.49% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $646 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $505 in Toa Alta Municipio to $1,353 in Dorado Municipio. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Puerto Rico

Life expectancy

—

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

—

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

—

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

—

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

County Health Rankings does not cover Puerto Rico, so no state health figure is published and none is estimated here.

Natural hazards in Puerto Rico

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$3.2B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$5.13

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Hurricane

$1.5B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in Puerto Rico

Side by side

San Juan Municipio, PR is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in Puerto Rico

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

1. 1San Juan Municipio336K
2. 2Bayamón Municipio182K
3. 3Carolina Municipio152K
4. 4Ponce Municipio133K
5. 5Caguas Municipio126K
6. 6Guaynabo Municipio89.4K
7. 7Arecibo Municipio86.5K
8. 8Toa Baja Municipio73K
9. 9Mayagüez Municipio70.8K
10. 10Trujillo Alto Municipio67.1K

All 78 counties in Puerto Rico

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: Puerto Rico next to your own state, by what you value.

• See Puerto Rico beside your own state

  Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

  Find your fit

• Pick a county here and make it your target

  The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

  See the three counties