Arecibo, PR

Census Place

2024 Population

40,831

2024 Median Age

45.6

1.79% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

40.7%

6.57% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$22,968

4.48% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$114,000

2.8% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

12,924

9.81% 1-year growth

Economy

The economy of Arecibo, PR employs 12.9k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Arecibo, PR were Health Care & Social Assistance (1,982 people), Manufacturing (1,752 people), and Retail Trade (1,717 people), and the highest paying industries were Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation ($77,857), Finance & Insurance ($43,401), and Utilities ($41,974).

Employment

Occupations

12.9k

2024 Value

± 1,094

9.81%

1 Year growth

± 10.9%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Arecibo, PR grew at a rate of 9.81%, from 11.8k employees to 12.9k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Arecibo, PR, are Sales & Related Occupations (1,739 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,463 people), and Production Occupations (1,245 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Arecibo, PR.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Puerto Rico.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Puerto Rico (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

12.9k

2024 Value

± 1,094

9.81%

1 Year growth

± 10.9%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Arecibo, PR grew at a rate of 9.81%, from 11.8k employees to 12.9k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Arecibo, PR, are Health Care & Social Assistance (1,982 people), Manufacturing (1,752 people), and Retail Trade (1,717 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Arecibo, PR, though some of these residents may live in Arecibo, PR and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$22,285

Median earning men ± $1,825

$22,779

Median earning women ± $2,305

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($41,912), Wholesale Trade ($37,550), and Public Administration ($36,250).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($39,375), Public Administration ($35,694), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($33,833).

Education

The student population of Arecibo, PR in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 2,131 male students and 3,781 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Arecibo, PR are Hispanic or Latino (1,344 and 99.8%), White (1 and 0.0742%), Asian (1 and 0.0742%), and Black or African American (1 and 0.0742%).

The largest universities in Arecibo, PR by number of degrees awarded are Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo (489 and 36.3%), University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo (486 and 36.1%), and Institute of Beauty Careers (143 and 10.6%).

The most popular majors in Arecibo, PR are Registered Nursing (153 and 11.4%), General Microbiology (73 and 5.42%), and Aesthetician & Skin Care Specialist (66 and 4.9%).

The median tuition costs are $4,968 for private four year colleges, and $5,024 and $5,024 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Arecibo, PR, the percentage of applicants admitted was 51.2%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 82.7%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 5,912 (36% men and 64% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 5,912 students enrolled in Arecibo, PR, 36% men and 64% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in Hispanic or Latino with 5,905 records, of which 63.9% were women and 36.1% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Registered Nursing
127 degrees awarded
General Microbiology
73 degrees awarded
General Biological Sciences
61 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Arecibo, PR was Registered Nursing with 127 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Arecibo, PR according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo
489 degrees awarded
University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo
486 degrees awarded
Institute of Beauty Careers
143 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo with 489 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 430 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Arecibo, PR, which is 0.469 times less than the 917 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was Hispanic or Latino students. These 1,344 degrees mean that there were 1.34k times more degrees awarded to Hispanic or Latino students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, White, with 1 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private for-profit, 2-year ($8,064) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($812) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private for-profit, 2-year ($2,964) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Arecibo, PR was $114,000 in 2024, which is 0.343 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $110,900 to $114,000, a 2.8% increase. The homeownership rate in Arecibo, PR is 59.5%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Arecibo, PR have an average commute time of 23.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Arecibo, PR is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$114,000

Median Property Value 2024

±$4,796

$9,785

Median Property Taxes

±$748

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Arecibo, PR the largest share of households pay taxes in the None range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Arecibo, PR compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

59.5%

Homeownership

2024

72%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 59.5% of the housing units in Arecibo, PR were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 56.1%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Arecibo, PR compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$22,968

Median Household Income

± $1,651

16.4k

Number of Households

± 983

In 2024, the median household income of the 16.4k households in Arecibo, PR grew to $22,968 from the previous year's value of $21,984.

The following chart displays the households in Arecibo, PR distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the < $10k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Arecibo, PR is from Puerto Rico.

0.454

2024 Wage GINI in Puerto Rico

0.46

2023 Wage GINI in Puerto Rico

In 2024, the income inequality in Puerto Rico was 0.454 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 1.22% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Puerto Rico was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Puerto Rico in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Puerto Rico across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (87.2%)
Worked At Home (4.73%)
Carpooled (4.67%)

In 2024, 87.2% of workers in Arecibo, PR drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (4.73%) and those who carpooled to work (4.67%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

23.5 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Arecibo, PR have a shorter commute time (23.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 3.07% of the workforce in Arecibo, PR have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Arecibo, PR compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Arecibo, PR distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Arecibo, PR have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

40.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Arecibo, PR (16.3k out of 40.1k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 75+, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Arecibo, PR is Hispanic, followed by Two Or More and Other.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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