Southwest · coastal · ~73 mi from San Juan
Living in Cabo Rojo
Residents live in a coastal town with a long history dating to 1771, set within the broader San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area.
How Cabo Rojo sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Cabo Rojo.
Housing and money
Median rent in Cabo Rojo runs 11% above the median of the 78 towns (19th highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $590/momedian town $534 · 19th highest of 78
- Median home value
- $124,800median town $115,700 · 25th highest of 78
- Median household income
- $26,408/yrmedian town $24,070 · 21st highest of 78
- Income per person
- $17,031median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 76%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 33%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 38%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1987median 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, 1 minute shorter than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 26 minmedian town 27 min · 28th shortest of 78
- Work from home
- 5.5%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.7%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 13.1%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 76%median town 80.6% · 24th lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~73 miNext door: Hormigueros, Lajas, San Germán and Mayagüez
People
- Population
- 46,876Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 70.3 sq mi (182.2 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 666median town 763 · 31st least dense of 78
- Median age
- 47.1median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 29%median town 24.1% · 16th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Cabo Rojo today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 122.6 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 51.1 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 183.8 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 224.7 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 14coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Cabo Rojo.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Cabo Rojo 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 Cabo Rojo are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 15.6 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, below most towns of the 78 towns (1 homicide 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
Beach water
Within limits: Balneario de Boquerón, Playa Buyé, Playa El Combate and 2 more. Last tested Oct 5, over 2 weeks ago.
Beach water qualitySources: 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.