Isabela Municipio, PR

County Profile

42,890 residents. Jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Isabela Municipio, PR.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 28% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 8 sources
Opportunity1,050th of 1,463 counties measured44
Schools852nd of 1,377 counties measured42
GrowthTop 1% of 1,453 counties measured92
Housing affordability1,375th of 1,462 counties measured49
ClimateTop 1% of 1,463 counties measured100
Physical resilience1,369th of 1,463 counties measured18
Access967th of 1,463 counties measured73
Economic stability1,462nd of 1,463 counties measured2
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 6.6% and the Opportunity signal places Isabela Municipio in the bottom 28%.

In the public schools here, 27% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.8 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 291 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 172% on the prior year.

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

Population
42,890
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$23,266
Bottom 1% nationally
Density
775/sq mi
55.3 sq mi of land
Median age
45.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Isabela Municipio
Puerto Rico
Metro area
Nearest major airport
PSE
44 mi · Mercedita
Median home value
$136,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.6% — higher than in all but 4% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 3.0% over the past year, to 14,714 employed residents.

Median household income of $23,266 is lower than in 99% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,4792024 ACS 5-Year$23,266Bottom 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2502024 ACS 5-Year$14,167Bottom 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year43.3%Bottom 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.8 minBottom 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.0%Top 43%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.1%91st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202614,714Bottom 20%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+9.4%Top 1%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+3.0%Top 4%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202615,74921st percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year56.9%Bottom 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.5%Bottom 1%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.6%Bottom 4%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%17th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/082022/082023/082024/082025/082026/079.14.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.6% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202423k17k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $23,266 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Aguadilla, PR

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators2,860$24,960
Retail Salespersons2,660$21,950
Cashiers1,830$21,840
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,600$21,940
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners1,160$22,010
Office Clerks, General1,100$22,240

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.

27% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.8 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
27.3%
Bottom 25% in Puerto Rico
Reading proficiency
42.4%
Bottom 32% in Puerto Rico
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Dr. Heriberto DomenechPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION76211.53%37%
Francisco MendozaPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION46011.827%52%
Jose C. RosarioPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION45311.619%34%
Jose A. VargasPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION31710.226%41%
Antonio Geigel ParedesPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION30412.762%52%
Irma Deliz De MunozPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION2849.55%32%
Epifanio Estrada IsabelaPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION20710.382%67%
Ceferina CorderoPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION2017.237%37%
Mateo HernandezPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION19710.457%42%

87.4% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $604 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.44% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $564, close to the $582 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $564 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $22,600 a year, about 97% of the median household income here of $23,266.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $582 a month.

A median home at $136,200 costs 5.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $27,245, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
30.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$564
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$582
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$136,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Isabela Municipio’s median household income of $23,266, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year5.0Bottom 4%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year66.4%19th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5252024 ACS 5-Year21,83267th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$482Top 1%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$680Top 1%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$564Top 1%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$342024 ACS 5-Year$582Top 4%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,2632024 ACS 5-Year$136,20024th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1802024 ACS 5-Year$6048th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$1,8052024 ACS 5-Year$27,245Bottom 1%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year0.44%10th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%Bottom 23%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2772024 ACS 5-Year1,32079th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year6.0%69th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year25.6%99th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5702024 ACS 5-Year6,90686th percentileof 3,2222024 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.

Development Momentum

92/ 100
Top 1% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

At 6.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
291
2025 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
6.8
Top 17% nationally
Year over year
+172%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
57.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202529198
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+177%).

Weather & climate

12 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 67°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 64.1 inches.

60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ISABELA SUBSTN, 2.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals64.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals67°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals121991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals6°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

18 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and tsunami, with hurricane alone responsible for 43% of it. Tsunami is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneHigh
LandslideModerate

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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. 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. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. 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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mercedita at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year54.3%Bottom 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 37%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year37.8%Bottom 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
MerceditaPSE44 mi8,002 ft
Luis Munoz Marin IntlSJU66 mi10,400 ft
Henry E RohlsenSTX155 mi10,002 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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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
2025 calendar year
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

Cities in Isabela Municipio, PR

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.