San Juan · coastal · ~11 mi from San Juan
Living in Carolina
Residents live in a densely populated coastal city within the San Juan metro area, with a mix of urban downtown life in Carolina Pueblo and beachside living in Isla Verde.
How Carolina sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Carolina.
Housing and money
Median rent in Carolina runs 27% above the median of the 78 towns (9th highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $677/momedian town $534 · 9th highest of 78
- Median home value
- $157,600median town $115,700 · 7th highest of 78
- Median household income
- $36,958/yrmedian town $24,070 · 4th highest of 78
- Income per person
- $22,102median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 68%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 19%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 28%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1970median 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 30 minutes, 3 minutes longer than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 30 minmedian town 27 min · 22nd longest of 78
- Work from home
- 11.4%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.9%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 10.4%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 90%median town 80.6% · 4th highest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~11 miNext door: Trujillo Alto, Canóvanas, Loíza, Gurabo and San Juan
People
- Population
- 152,204Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 45.4 sq mi (117.5 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 3,354median town 763 · 4th densest of 78
- Median age
- 45.3median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 36%median town 24.1% · 6th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Carolina today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 493.2 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 191.2 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 463 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 966.3 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 3coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Carolina.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Sectors of Carolina are on AAA's Carraízo rationing calendar (zones 1 and 2), with interruptions currently paused. Reservoir levels & the rationing calendar
- Power. LUMA reports outages by sector; the live tracker shows how many sectors in Carolina are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 26 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, among the highest of the 78 towns (12 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
Beach water
Within limits: Balneario de Carolina. Last tested Oct 6, over 2 weeks ago.
Not sampled recently: Balneario de Carolina-Oeste and Balneario Isla Verde. Last tested Mar 15, 2024.
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.