Southwest · coastal · ~63 mi from San Juan
Living in Guánica
Residents live in a coastal town within the Yauco metropolitan area, close to protected forest and marine reserves rather than large urban development.
How Guánica sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Guánica.
Housing and money
Median rent in Guánica runs 35% below the median of the 78 towns (lowest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $349/momedian town $534 · lowest of 78
- Median home value
- $87,200median town $115,700 · 2nd lowest of 78
- Median household income
- $17,633/yrmedian town $24,070 · 3rd lowest of 78
- Income per person
- $10,594median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 69%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 37%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 64%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 20 minutes, 8 minutes shorter than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 20 minmedian town 27 min · 3rd shortest of 78
- Work from home
- 3.0%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.4%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 22.9%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 59%median town 80.6% · 6th lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~63 miNext door: Yauco, Sabana Grande and Lajas
People
- Population
- 12,855Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 37.1 sq mi (96 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 347median town 763 · 11th least dense of 78
- Median age
- 45.9median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 16%median town 24.1% · 5th lowest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Guánica today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 1310.1 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 10.8 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 1511.7 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 21.6 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 8coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Guánica.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Guánica 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 Guánica are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 31.9 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, among the highest 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 Caña Gorda and Playa Santa. 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.