North · coastal · ~28 mi from San Juan
Living in Barceloneta
Residents live in a coastal town that is formally part of the San Juan metropolitan area, offering proximity to the capital region while remaining a smaller, historic town founded in 1881.
How Barceloneta sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Barceloneta.
Housing and money
Median rent in Barceloneta runs 9% above the median of the 78 towns (22nd highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $582/momedian town $534 · 22nd highest of 78
- Median home value
- $126,300median town $115,700 · 24th highest of 78
- Median household income
- $24,508/yrmedian town $24,070 · 32nd highest of 78
- Income per person
- $16,031median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 74%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 16%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 42%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1986median year
For scale: the U.S. median rent is $1,413 and household income $80,734; Puerto Rico's, island-wide, are $578 and $26,297. Full cost-of-living comparison.
Work and getting around
The typical commute is 26 minutes, 2 minutes shorter than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 26 minmedian town 27 min · 25th shortest of 78
- Work from home
- 4.1%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.0%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 10.9%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 79%median town 80.6% · 32nd lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~28 miNext door: Manatí, Florida and Arecibo
People
- Population
- 22,494Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 18.7 sq mi (48.4 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 1,204median town 763 · 18th densest of 78
- Median age
- 43.3median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 25%median town 24.1% · 35th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Barceloneta today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 94 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 20.9 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 2310.2 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 94 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 2coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Barceloneta.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Barceloneta is not on an AAA rationing calendar. Reservoir levels & the rationing calendar
- Power. LUMA reports outages by sector; the live tracker shows how many sectors in Barceloneta are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 18.2 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, middle of the island of the 78 towns (3 homicides that year). Every town, with context
- Hurricanes. Every town prepares the same way; the Puerto Rico version of the checklist starts from a grid and water system that take longer to come back. Prepare
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2020–2024 (small towns carry wide margins of error); OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), mapped as of Oct 4, 2026; Puerto Rico Police Bureau, SAEC Type I, 2025 full year; AAA: Plan de Interrupciones Programadas.