Central · inland · ~25 mi from San Juan
Living in Cayey
Residents live in a mountain town within the Central Mountain range that, despite its inland, rural setting, is connected to the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo metropolitan area.
How Cayey sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Cayey.
Housing and money
Median rent in Cayey runs 1% above the median of the 78 towns (36th highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $540/momedian town $534 · 36th highest of 78
- Median home value
- $148,300median town $115,700 · 14th highest of 78
- Median household income
- $30,129/yrmedian town $24,070 · 10th highest of 78
- Income per person
- $18,854median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 63%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 17%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 37%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1981median 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 28 minutes, the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 28 minmedian town 27 min · 38th longest of 78
- Work from home
- 0.3%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.2%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 5.0%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 87%median town 80.6% · 10th highest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~25 miNext door: Cidra, Aibonito, Guayama, Caguas, Salinas, Patillas and San Lorenzo
People
- Population
- 40,917Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 51.9 sq mi (134.5 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 787median town 763 · 35th densest of 78
- Median age
- 45.6median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 29%median town 24.1% · 14th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Cayey today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 327.8 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 20.5 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 245.9 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 184.4 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 0inland
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Cayey.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Cayey 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 Cayey are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 21 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, above most towns of the 78 towns (4 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.