South · coastal · ~33 mi from San Juan
Living in Patillas
Residents live in a coastal town of 15,563 people, organized across 15 barrios and the town center, within commuting reach of the Guayama metro area.
How Patillas sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Patillas.
Housing and money
Median rent in Patillas runs 2% above the median of the 78 towns (35th highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $543/momedian town $534 · 35th highest of 78
- Median home value
- $90,300median town $115,700 · 7th lowest of 78
- Median household income
- $24,396/yrmedian town $24,070 · 35th highest of 78
- Income per person
- $12,868median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 69%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 22%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 49%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1987median 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, 2 minutes longer than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 29 minmedian town 27 min · 27th longest of 78
- Work from home
- 1.3%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 1.0%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 8.3%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 82%median town 80.6% · 36th highest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~33 miNext door: Arroyo, Maunabo, Guayama, Yabucoa, San Lorenzo and Cayey
People
- Population
- 15,563Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 46.6 sq mi (120.7 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 334median town 763 · 9th least dense of 78
- Median age
- 49.5median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 22%median town 24.1% · 25th lowest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Patillas today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 1610.3 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 31.9 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 149 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 42.6 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 Patillas.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Patillas 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 Patillas are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 25.1 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 de Patillas. 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.