North · coastal · ~11 mi from San Juan
Living in Dorado
Residents live in a coastal town close to San Juan's metropolitan area, spread across five barrios and a town center with a mix of dining and recreational options.
How Dorado sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Dorado.
Housing and money
Median rent in Dorado runs 34% above the median of the 78 towns (2nd highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $715/momedian town $534 · 2nd highest of 78
- Median home value
- $169,900median town $115,700 · 3rd highest of 78
- Median household income
- $36,391/yrmedian town $24,070 · 5th highest of 78
- Income per person
- $28,640median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 79%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 22%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 28%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1984median 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 34 minutes, 7 minutes longer than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 34 minmedian town 27 min · 7th longest of 78
- Work from home
- 13.3%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.0%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 11.0%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 77%median town 80.6% · 28th lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~11 miNext door: Toa Baja, Vega Alta and Toa Alta
People
- Population
- 35,810Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 23.1 sq mi (59.9 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 1,549median town 763 · 10th densest of 78
- Median age
- 42.9median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 41%median town 24.1% · 4th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Dorado today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 154.2 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 20.6 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 195.3 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 246.7 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 4coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Dorado.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Dorado 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 Dorado are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 19.3 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, above most towns of the 78 towns (5 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: Sardinera Beach. Last tested Oct 6, 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.