North · coastal · ~19 mi from San Juan
Living in Vega Baja
Residents live in a coastal town within the San Juan metropolitan area, spread across 14 barrios with a long history dating to its 1776 founding.
How Vega Baja sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Vega Baja.
Housing and money
Median rent in Vega Baja runs 22% above the median of the 78 towns (12th highest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $650/momedian town $534 · 12th highest of 78
- Median home value
- $122,700median town $115,700 · 27th highest of 78
- Median household income
- $24,244/yrmedian town $24,070 · 38th highest of 78
- Income per person
- $16,650median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 75%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 20%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 41%median town 44.1%
- Typical home built
- 1979median 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 30 minutes, 2 minutes longer than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 30 minmedian town 27 min · 23rd longest of 78
- Work from home
- 3.0%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 0.0%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 11.0%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 74%median town 80.6% · 20th lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~19 miNext door: Vega Alta, Manatí and Morovis
People
- Population
- 53,892Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 45.8 sq mi (118.7 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 1,176median town 763 · 19th densest of 78
- Median age
- 44.7median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 26%median town 24.1% · 30th highest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Vega Baja today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 244.5 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 30.6 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 173.2 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 112 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 2coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Vega Baja.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Vega Baja 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 Vega Baja are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 18.6 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, middle of the island of the 78 towns (12 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: Balneario Puerto Nuevo. 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.