Vieques · coastal · ~50 mi from San Juan
Living in Vieques
Life in Vieques centers on an island community spread across seven barrios and the historic center of Isabel Segunda, set apart from mainland Puerto Rico by its coastal, island geography.
How Vieques sits among Puerto Rico’s 78 towns: every figure against the median town, with its source. Visiting instead? Things to do in Vieques.
Housing and money
Median rent in Vieques runs 19% below the median of the 78 towns (5th lowest of 78 towns).
- Median rent
- $430/momedian town $534 · 5th lowest of 78
- Median home value
- $100,000median town $115,700 · 14th lowest of 78
- Median household income
- $19,803/yrmedian town $24,070 · 10th lowest of 78
- Income per person
- $11,056median town $14,811
- Homes owner-occupied
- 67%median town 71.1%
- Homes vacant
- 43%median town 20.3%
- Below the poverty line
- 59%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 13 minutes, 14 minutes shorter than the median of the 78 towns.
- Typical commute
- 13 minmedian town 27 min · 2nd shortest of 78
- Work from home
- 24.0%median town 4.5%
- Commute by transit
- 1.2%median town 0.3%
- Unemployment
- 6.1%median town 10.5%
- Households with broadband
- 79%median town 80.6% · 35th lowest of 78
- To San Juan
- ~50 mi
People
- Population
- 8,078Census estimate, 2020–2024 · 50.8 sq mi (131.5 km²)
- Residents per sq mi
- 158median town 763 · 3rd least dense of 78
- Median age
- 46.5median town 44.9
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 12%median town 24.1% · lowest of 78
Daily life
What is mapped in Vieques today: counts, then per 10,000 residents so a small town and San Juan read on the same scale.
- Schools
- 911.1 per 10k · median town 6.3
- Supermarkets
- 00 per 10k · median town 0.7
- Parks
- 78.7 per 10k · median town 4.3
- Restaurants
- 1012.4 per 10k · median town 2.4
- Beaches
- 30coastal town
Counts from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): what volunteers have mapped, not an official register. Places our guide recommends in Vieques.
Water, power and safety
- Water. Vieques 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 Vieques are out right now. Outages by town
- Safety. 21 reported violent crimes per 10,000 residents in 2025, above most towns of the 78 towns (2 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
FerryCeiba to Vieques
Next out of Ceiba
Next back from Vieques
Every departure both ways, and whatever the ferry company has posted against today’s sailings.
Ferry scheduleBeach water
Not sampled recently: Playa Esperanza, Balneario Sunbay and Gringo Beach. Last tested Nov 20, 2023.
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.