Caño Martin Peña vs San Juan

Which is the better fit for you?

Caño Martin Peña, PR
45
Area Score
Bottom 9% nationally
San Juan, PR
51
Area Score
Bottom 25% nationally

Want a third or fourth place beside these? Open them in the shortlist and add more.

San Juan receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Caño Martin Peña to San Juan

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Everyday prices
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes no regional price index for Caño Martin Peña or San Juan, so nothing here is estimated in its place.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Needs a price index for both places.
A new two-bedroom lease
The same
HUD benchmarks it at $663 in San Juan against $663 in Caño Martin Peña.
The median home
64% more
$173,200 in San Juan against $105,400 in Caño Martin Peña.
The weather you would swap
Winters 6°F colder
Normal January lows are 66°F in San Juan against 72°F in Caño Martin Peña; July highs are 90°F against 89°F (summers 1°F hotter).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Caño Martin Peña
San Juan
Opportunity: San Juan is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
51 · Bottom 39%
vs
60 · Top 41%
Growth
39 · Bottom 28%
vs
39 · Bottom 28%
Climate: San Juan is the more favorable of the two.
Climate
69 · Bottom 45%
vs
79 · Top 19%
Physical resilience
17 · Bottom 11%
vs
17 · Bottom 11%
Housing affordability: San Juan is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
42 · Bottom 12%
vs
60 · Bottom 35%
Schools: San Juan is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
46 · Bottom 45%
vs
50 · Top 49%
Access
97 · Top 31%
vs
97 · Top 31%
Economic stability: San Juan is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
9 · Bottom 1%
vs
18 · Bottom 2%

Measured values

MetricCaño Martin PeñaSan JuanSource period
Population11,618317,9952024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income$19,149$28,562 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$13,156$26,372 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Population density16,887/sq mi7,987/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$105,400$173,2002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent — the two are too close to separate$578 ±$54$612 ±$172024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$663$663FY2026
Homeownership rate53.3%52.5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate4.5%4.5%July 2026
Employment change (year over year)+2.8%+2.8%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher12.6%44.0% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate59.6%38.1% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)92922025 calendar year
Permits per 1,000 residents0.30.32025 calendar year
Permit change (year over year)−55.8%−55.8%2025 calendar year
Average July high89°F90°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low72°F66°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation59.9"75.9"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport3 mi — more favorable5 miNASR current cycle
Average commute — the two are too close to separate26.6 min ±2.0 min26.3 min ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age47.445.72024 ACS 5-Year
Students per teacher9.3 — more favorable9.42024-25 school year
Math proficiency27.4%29.2% — more favorable2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency43.7% — more favorable43.1%2018-19 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

2 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

Physical risk tradeoff

Caño Martin Peña

Elevated or high exposure: hurricane.

San Juan

Elevated or high exposure: hurricane.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Caño Martin Peña
—
Caño Martin Peña: Your Score
45
Area Score
San Juan
—
San Juan: Your Score
51
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Caño Martin Peña, PR · San Juan, PR · How this is calculated: methodology