Carolina, Puerto Rico
Area Profile
138,633 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Carolina, in Carolina Municipio.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 9 sourcesUnemployment is 4.8% and median household income $37,726, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains Carolina, rather than for Carolina alone.
In the public schools here, 30% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 9.8 students for every teacher.
14 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains Carolina, rather than for Carolina alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains Carolina, is 4.8% — higher than in all but 32% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains Carolina, grew 2.8% over the past year, to 64,284 employed residents.
37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.
Median household income of $37,726 is lower than in 92% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$1,7012024 ACS 5-Year | $37,726 | Bottom 8%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$7932024 ACS 5-Year | $22,436 | Bottom 13%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.2% | Bottom 12%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 33.0 min | Bottom 22%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 37.0% | Top 22%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.1% | 56th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentCarolina Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026 | 64,284 | Top 49%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Carolina Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026 | +6.4% | Top 3%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Carolina Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026 | +2.8% | Top 4%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceCarolina Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026 | 67,514 | 51st percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 76.9% | Bottom 45%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageSan Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $39,970 | Bottom 1%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageSan Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $29,440 | Bottom 1%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.9% | 83rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Carolina Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026 | +1.1% | Bottom 3%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateCarolina Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026 | 4.8% | Bottom 32%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.6% | 66th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 27,950 | $22,780 |
| Security Guards | 22,420 | $21,840 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 21,530 | $21,930 |
| Cashiers | 18,010 | $22,300 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 17,900 | $22,130 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 15,940 | $26,520 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains this city.
30% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 9.8 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Severo Quinones | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 628 | 11.4 | 31% | 28% |
| Luz America Calderon | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 451 | 12.9 | 3% | 32% |
| Petra Roman Vigo | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 416 | 9.7 | 10% | 36% |
| Francisco Matias Lugo | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 404 | 9.9 | 37% | 29% |
| Agustin Cabrera | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 323 | 10.8 | 3% | 33% |
| Prisco Fuentes | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 301 | 8.6 | 50% | 58% |
| Jesus Maria Sanroma | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 292 | 10.1 | 17% | 12% |
| Juana A. Mendez | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 282 | 7.8 | 72% | 60% |
| Maria Teresa Serrano | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 259 | 10.4 | 67% | 67% |
| Dr. Modesto Rivera Rivera | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 246 | 9.5 | 45% | 39% |
| Salvador Brau | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 220 | 12.2 | 3% | 22% |
| Dr. Jose M. Lazaro | PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | 219 | 8.1 | 3% | 32% |
87.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Puerto Rico’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $763 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.48% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $663, close to the $677 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $663 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $26,500 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $37,726.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $677 a month.
A median home at $158,400 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $45,750, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
The figures above are measured against Carolina’s median household income of $37,726, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 3.5 | Bottom 25%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 67.3% | 33rd percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±1,2212024 ACS 5-Year | 74,053 | 99th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $572 | Top 1%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $868 | Top 1%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $663 | Top 1%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year | $677 | Top 14%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$2,0412024 ACS 5-Year | $158,400 | 41st percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$652024 ACS 5-Year | $763 | 15th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$1,9722024 ACS 5-Year | $45,750 | Bottom 9%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.48% | 10th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.8% | Bottom 42%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±4382024 ACS 5-Year | 4,033 | 99th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.4% | 82nd percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.9% | 76th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±8952024 ACS 5-Year | 14,318 | 99th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 14 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains Carolina, rather than for Carolina alone.
At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains Carolina, rather than for Carolina alone.
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Carolina, PR is not one. This is the figure for Carolina Municipio, PR, which contains this city.
Weather & climate
6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 70°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 65.2 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 65.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 70°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 88°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 6°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and inland flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 54% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, drought, hail, heat wave, ice storm, inland flooding, lightning, strong wind, tornado, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, winter weather.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Regional price parities are published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for the fifty states, the District of Columbia and their metropolitan areas. Puerto Rico is outside that program.
- Death-certificate rates
- The CDC provisional county file covers the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Puerto Rico is not in it, so the homicide, firearm, overdose and suicide rates shown elsewhere on this site have no counterpart here.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Luis Munoz Marin Intl at 2 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 90.4% | Top 47%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 2 mi | Top 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.5% | Bottom 44%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Munoz Marin Intl | SJU | 2 mi | 10,400 ft |
| Mercedita | PSE | 47 mi | 8,002 ft |
| Henry E Rohlsen | STX | 92 mi | 10,002 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Where Carolina ranks
Top-ten placements in AreaProfile’s standing rankingsEvery ranking is a standing calculation over all published profiles, not an editorial selection. Each one states its cohort, its inputs and what it excludes.
Other cities in San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan | San Juan Municipio | 317,995 | 51 | San Juan vs Carolina |
| Bayamón | Bayamón Municipio | 166,923 | 45 | Bayamón vs Carolina |
| Caguas | Caguas Municipio | 72,922 | 47 | Caguas vs Carolina |
| Guaynabo | Guaynabo Municipio | 70,599 | 55 | |
| Trujillo Alto | Trujillo Alto Municipio | 43,611 | 60 | |
| Mansión del Mar | Toa Baja Municipio | 25,510 | 58 | |
| Fajardo | Fajardo Municipio | 24,269 | 51 | |
| Vega Baja | Vega Baja Municipio | 22,756 | 51 | |
| Cataño | Cataño Municipio | 22,467 | — | |
| Humacao | Humacao Municipio | 15,787 | 44 | |
| Candelaria | Toa Baja Municipio | 14,868 | 60 | |
| Cayey | Cayey Municipio | 14,655 | 53 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Carolina side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Carolina from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 2025 calendar year |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Carolina
5 ZIP areasEvery ZIP area in Carolina with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Carolina closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.