North · coastal · ~25 mi from San Juan
Living in Manatí
Residents live in a coastal town with a historic downtown pueblo and easy connection to the San Juan metropolitan area, about 25 miles away.
How Manatí sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Manatí.
Housing and money
Median rent in Manatí runs 1% above the median of the 78 towns (38th highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $538/momedian town $534 · 38th highest of 78
- Median home value
- $120,500median town $115,700 · 31st highest of 78
- Median household income
- $22,683/yrmedian town $24,070 · 28th lowest of 78
- Income per person
- $15,901median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 75%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 20%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 42%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1975median 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 29 minutes, 1 minute longer than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 29 minmedian town 27 min · 32nd longest of 78
- Work from home
- 2.4%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.2%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 13.2%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 69%median town 80.6% · 7th lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~25 miNext door: Barceloneta, Ciales, Vega Baja, Florida and Morovis
People
- Population
- 38,943Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 45.1 sq mi (116.9 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 862median town 763 · 32nd densest of 78
- Median age
- 45.3median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 25%median town 24.1% · 37th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Manatí today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 235.9 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 20.5 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 246.2 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 71.8 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 Manatí.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Manatí 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 Manatí are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 18.2 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, middle of the island 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
Beach water
Within limits: Playa Mar Chiquita. 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.