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Town of the Week: Barranquitas, Where Rent Runs 5% Below the Median Town

Published Nov 10, 2026, 6:06 AM AST787daily · Original analysis

At a glance

  • Barranquitas: 29,054 people in the Central region, 23 miles from San Juan
  • Median rent $505 (5% below the median town)
  • Median home value $117,800 (2% above the median town)
  • Median household income $23,407, 35th lowest of 78

Why this matters: For anyone weighing a move to or within Puerto Rico: what housing, pay, the commute and broadband look like in Barranquitas against the island’s other towns.

Barranquitas is an inland town of 29,054 people in Puerto Rico’s Central region. Median rent runs $505 a month, 5% below the median town.

The median home is valued at $117,800, 2% above the median town. Median household income is $23,407, 3% below the median town, and 48.5% of residents live below the poverty line.

The typical commute is 32 minutes against the median town’s 27.4, and 3.2% of workers work from home. Broadband reaches 83.1% of households, and unemployment is 12.7% against the median town’s 10.5%.

The Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s statistics put Barranquitas at 44.4 reported Type I incidents (the police bureau’s count of serious crime, homicide to car theft) per 10,000 residents, 18.2 of them violent. Barranquitas is not on the water utility’s current rationing calendar.

By the numbers

Median rentMedian rent: 505 against the median town's 533.5, 27th lowest of 78 towns−5% Home valueHome value: 117800 against the median town's 115700, 36th highest of 78 towns+2% Median incomeMedian income: 23407 against the median town's 24070, 35th lowest of 78 towns−3% CommuteCommute: 31.8 against the median town's 27.4, 14th highest of 78 towns+16% BroadbandBroadband: 83.1 against the median town's 80.6, 31st highest of 78 towns+3% Works from homeWorks from home: 3.2 against the median town's 4.5, 31st lowest of 78 towns−28% UnemploymentUnemployment: 12.7 against the median town's 10.5, 25th highest of 78 towns+22% median town ← below above →
Median rentMedian rent: 505 against the median town's 533.5, 27th lowest of 78 towns−5% Home valueHome value: 117800 against the median town's 115700, 36th highest of 78 towns+2% Median incomeMedian income: 23407 against the median town's 24070, 35th lowest of 78 towns−3% CommuteCommute: 31.8 against the median town's 27.4, 14th highest of 78 towns+16% BroadbandBroadband: 83.1 against the median town's 80.6, 31st highest of 78 towns+3% Works from homeWorks from home: 3.2 against the median town's 4.5, 31st lowest of 78 towns−28% UnemploymentUnemployment: 12.7 against the median town's 10.5, 25th highest of 78 towns+22% median town ← below above →
Barranquitas against the median of all 78 towns, in percent. Green is the better side for that measure (cheaper rent, faster commute, more broadband), orange the worse, and grey means the measure has no better side. Source: Census ACS 5-year estimates, as on the living page.
Barranquitas against the median town of the 78. Sources are listed at the end.
MeasureBarranquitasMedian town (The middle of the 78 towns' own figures, not the Puerto Rico-wide one)Rank (Rank among the 78 towns, with the direction that reads as better)
Median rent (monthly)$505$53427th lowest of 78
Median home value$117,800$115,70036th highest of 78
Median household income$23,407$24,07035th lowest of 78
Residents below the poverty line48.5%44.1%24th highest of 78
Owner-occupied homes66.7%71.1%17th lowest of 78
Vacant housing units15.4%20.3%12th lowest of 78
Typical commute31.8 min27.4 min14th highest of 78
Working from home3.2%4.5%31st lowest of 78
Households with broadband83.1%80.6%31st highest of 78
Unemployment12.7%10.5%25th highest of 78
Restaurants per 10,000 residents12.416th lowest of 77

Ranks count only the towns that have the figure, from the nearer end: “lowest” or “highest” says which.

Around it

Nearby townMonthly rent (Median monthly rent, against Barranquitas's $505)
Aibonito$481 ($24 less)
Comerío$512 ($7 more)
Orocovis$499 ($6 less)
Coamo$521 ($16 more)

Its patron-saint festival honors Saint Anthony of Padua around June 13.

Every figure above, with its source and vintage, is on the Living in Barranquitas page; the town’s guide, news and events are on its town page, and the same metrics rank all 78 towns on the best-of lists.

This is the 10th Town of the Week (the previous one is here).

Sources: the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), 5-year estimates (2020–2024), OpenStreetMap contributors (mapped as of Oct 4, 2026), Puerto Rico Police Bureau Type I statistics, and the rationing plan the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) published. ACS estimates carry margins of error that widen for small towns and lag by years; OpenStreetMap counts depend on how fully the town is mapped; ranks are among the 78 towns.

In context

About this analysis
Cite this

Source: 787daily, “Town of the Week: Barranquitas, Where Rent Runs 5% Below the Median Town”, Nov 10, 2026, https://787daily.com/news/2026-11-10-town-of-the-week-barranquitas-where-rent-runs-5-below-the/

Numbers from
Census ACS 5-Year, OpenStreetMap, PRPD and AAA, as on the town's living page
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