Ponce, PR

Census Place

2024 Population

107,805

2024 Median Age

44.7

1.13% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

49.6%

1.66% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$19,470

4.4% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$113,100

2.91% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

31,645

2.43% 1-year growth

Economy

The economy of Ponce, PR employs 31.6k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Ponce, PR were Retail Trade (5,039 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (3,863 people), and Educational Services (3,700 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($76,512), Information ($44,136), and Finance & Insurance ($36,250).

Employment

Occupations

31.6k

2024 Value

± 1,433

2.43%

1 Year growth

± 6.14%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Ponce, PR grew at a rate of 2.43%, from 30.9k employees to 31.6k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Ponce, PR, are Sales & Related Occupations (4,296 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (4,285 people), and Management Occupations (2,272 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Ponce, 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

31.6k

2024 Value

± 1,433

2.43%

1 Year growth

± 6.14%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Ponce, PR grew at a rate of 2.43%, from 30.9k employees to 31.6k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Ponce, PR, are Retail Trade (5,039 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (3,863 people), and Educational Services (3,700 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Ponce, PR, though some of these residents may live in Ponce, PR and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$20,976

Median earning men ± $1,249

$19,827

Median earning women ± $1,610

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Information ($45,266), Public Administration ($36,319), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($34,941).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($35,362), Public Administration ($28,366), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($25,957).

Education

The student population of Ponce, PR in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 4,373 male students and 6,832 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Ponce, PR are Hispanic or Latino (2,782 and 99.7%), Unknown (5 and 0.179%), White (2 and 0.0717%), and Asian (1 and 0.0358%).

The largest universities in Ponce, PR by number of degrees awarded are Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce (956 and 34.2%), Instituto Educativo Premier (328 and 11.7%), and University of Puerto Rico at Ponce (308 and 11%).

The most popular majors in Ponce, PR are Electrician (241 and 8.63%), General Biomedical Sciences (181 and 6.48%), and General Psychology (170 and 6.08%).

The median tuition costs are $6,552 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 Ponce, PR, the percentage of applicants admitted was 82.7%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 43.9%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 11,205 (39% men and 61% 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 11,205 students enrolled in Ponce, PR, 39% men and 61% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in Hispanic or Latino with 10,932 records, of which 61.1% were women and 38.9% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Electrician
241 degrees awarded
Barbering
150 degrees awarded
Automobile Mechanics Technology
88 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate recipients in Ponce, PR was Electrician with 241 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate from schools in Ponce, PR according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce
956 degrees awarded
Instituto Educativo Premier
328 degrees awarded
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
308 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce with 956 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 1,341 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Ponce, PR, which is 0.923 times less than the 1,453 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 2,782 degrees mean that there were 556 times more degrees awarded to Hispanic or Latino students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Unknown, with 5 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, less-than 2-year ($9,000) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,664) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($4,168) 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 Ponce, PR was $113,100 in 2024, which is 0.34 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $109,900 to $113,100, a 2.91% increase. The homeownership rate in Ponce, PR is 65.4%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

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

Housing

Property

$113,100

Median Property Value 2024

±$2,234

$30,762

Median Property Taxes

±$1,070

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 Ponce, PR the largest share of households pay taxes in the None range.

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

Rent vs Own

65.4%

Homeownership

2024

74%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 65.4% of the housing units in Ponce, PR were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 66%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Ponce, 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.

$19,470

Median Household Income

± $736

47k

Number of Households

± 1,409

In 2024, the median household income of the 47k households in Ponce, PR grew to $19,470 from the previous year's value of $18,650.

The following chart displays the households in Ponce, 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 Ponce, 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 (83.6%)
Carpooled (7.12%)
Worked At Home (6.2%)

In 2024, 83.6% of workers in Ponce, PR drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (7.12%) and those who worked at home (6.2%).

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 Ponce, PR have a shorter commute time (23.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 4% of the workforce in Ponce, PR have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

49.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Ponce, PR (53.2k out of 107k 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 25 - 34, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Females 75+.

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

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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