Isabela, Puerto Rico

Area Profile

11,048 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Isabela, in Isabela Municipio.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 33% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity2,997th of 4,199 cities measured46
Schools2,679th of 4,162 cities measured39
GrowthTop 1% of 4,224 cities measured89
Housing affordability3,057th of 4,218 cities measured55
ClimateTop 4% of 4,225 cities measured100
Physical resilience3,744th of 4,226 cities measured18
Access3,680th of 4,226 cities measured72
Economic stability4,222nd of 4,226 cities measured8
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 6.6% and the Opportunity signal places Isabela in the bottom 29%. The unemployment rate is published for Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains Isabela, rather than for Isabela alone.

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. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains Isabela, rather than for Isabela 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

Population
11,048
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$21,796
Bottom 1% nationally
Density
4,220/sq mi
2.6 sq mi of land
Median age
44.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Puerto Rico
Metro area
Nearest major airport
PSE
45 mi · Mercedita
Median home value
$121,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains Isabela, is 6.6% — higher than in all but 5% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains Isabela, grew 3.0% over the past year, to 14,714 employed residents.

Median household income of $21,796 is lower than in 99% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,4502024 ACS 5-Year$21,796Bottom 1%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6992024 ACS 5-Year$16,529Bottom 5%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year41.0%Bottom 5%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±4.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.6 minBottom 36%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 34%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year78.7%55th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentIsabela Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 202614,714Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Isabela Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026+9.4%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Isabela Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026+3.0%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceIsabela Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 202615,74913th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year61.8%Bottom 14%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAguadilla, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$36,610Bottom 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAguadilla, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$26,480Bottom 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Isabela Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026+1.5%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateIsabela Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 20266.6%Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202422k17k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $21,796 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains this city.

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 21% in Puerto Rico
Reading proficiency
42.4%
Bottom 29% 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 $617 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.51% 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, below the $633 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 104% of the median household income here of $21,796.

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 $633 a month.

A median home at $121,300 costs 4.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $26,215, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
29.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$564
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$633
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$121,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Isabela’s median household income of $21,796, 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 ±12024 ACS 5-Year4.6Bottom 11%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year63.9%26th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4912024 ACS 5-Year5,82690th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$482Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$680Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$564Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$882024 ACS 5-Year$633Top 10%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$24,1332024 ACS 5-Year$121,30028th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1532024 ACS 5-Year$61710th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,8292024 ACS 5-Year$26,215Bottom 1%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.16%2024 ACS 5-Year0.51%12th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±13%2024 ACS 5-Year29.7%Bottom 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1392024 ACS 5-Year34796th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year6.0%83rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%93rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2882024 ACS 5-Year1,85797th percentileof 32,3302024 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

89/ 100
Top 1% of 4,224 published city profiles

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 cities. The permit rate is published for Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains Isabela, rather than for Isabela alone.

Units permitted
291
2025 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
6.8
Top 19% nationally
Year over year
+172%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
57.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Isabela, PR is not one. This is the figure for Isabela Municipio, PR, which contains this city.

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, 3.1 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). 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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mercedita at 45 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year50.7%Bottom 3%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle45 miBottom 15%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year43.0%Bottom 3%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
MerceditaPSE45 mi8,002 ft
Luis Munoz Marin IntlSJU67 mi10,400 ft
Henry E RohlsenSTX156 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
54
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Other cities in Aguadilla, PR

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
AguadillaAguadilla Municipio11,03350Aguadilla vs Isabela

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.

Compare

Put Isabela side by side with a similar place.

Isabela vs CayeyIsabela vs Cataño

Moving to Isabela from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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.

ZIP codes in Isabela

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Isabela with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0066241,090$23,299$135,50054