00728 — Ponce, Puerto Rico

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 00728. Its median household income runs 18% above Ponce as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 19% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 10 sources
Opportunity2,326th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured42
SchoolsTop 9% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured82
Growth1,911th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured45
Housing affordability2,482nd of 3,112 ZIP areas measured51
ClimateTop 15% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured81
Physical resilience3,039th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured8
AccessTop 41% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured95
Economic stability3,113th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured8
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 10.6% and the Opportunity signal places 00728 in the bottom 25%. The unemployment rate is published for Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, rather than for 00728 alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 45% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 9% of published profiles for schools. Math proficiency is published for Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, rather than for 00728 alone.

Rent takes 36% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.9 times what its owners earn.

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
36,532
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$23,031
Bottom 1% nationally
Density
2,373/sq mi
15.4 sq mi of land
Median age
40.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Ponce
Puerto Rico
Metro area
Nearest major airport
PSE
7 mi · Mercedita
Median home value
$111,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, is 10.6% — higher than in all but 1% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, grew 2.6% over the past year, to 38,678 employed residents.

Median household income of $23,031 is lower than in 99% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,8882024 ACS 5-Year$23,031Bottom 1%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0082024 ACS 5-Year$13,920Bottom 2%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year48.4%Bottom 2%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.8 minTop 39%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.2%Top 40%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year84.6%81st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentPonce, PR’s figureJuly 202638,678Bottom 41%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Ponce, PR’s figureJuly 2026+5.6%Top 5%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Ponce, PR’s figureJuly 2026+2.6%Top 6%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forcePonce, PR’s figureJuly 202643,24744th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year52.8%Bottom 6%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePonce, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$35,310Bottom 1%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wagePonce, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$26,940Bottom 1%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%62nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Ponce, PR’s figureJuly 2026+2.3%Bottom 1%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment ratePonce, PR’s figureJuly 202610.6%Bottom 1%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%27th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202423k20k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $23,031 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 — Ponce, PR

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons3,580$22,030
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners2,940$21,840
Cashiers2,320$21,840
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,100$21,840
Registered Nurses1,980$38,570
Office Clerks, General1,560$23,070

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 labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Ponce, PR, the city containing this ZIP code.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 49% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, rather than for 00728 alone.

There are 7.9 students for every full-time teacher across 1 public school, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, rather than for 00728 alone.

Public schools
1
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
7.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.9%
Top 18% in Puerto Rico
Reading proficiency
49.1%
Top 27% in Puerto Rico

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Ponce, PR: too few schools in 00728 reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.

The one public school on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Librado NetPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION1367.667%67%

85.3% 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 $613 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.55% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $538, close to the $568 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $538 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $21,500 a year, about 93% of the median household income here of $23,031.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $568 a month.

A median home at $111,000 costs 3.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $28,138, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
36.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$538
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$568
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$111,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 00728’s median household income of $23,031, 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 ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.9Bottom 19%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%41st percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7612024 ACS 5-Year16,56994th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$491Top 1%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$748Top 1%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$538Top 1%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$512024 ACS 5-Year$568Top 4%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,8932024 ACS 5-Year$111,00014th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1892024 ACS 5-Year$6137th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,8152024 ACS 5-Year$28,138Bottom 1%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.17%2024 ACS 5-Year0.55%18th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year36.1%Bottom 15%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1262024 ACS 5-Year33091st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%59th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.9%80th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4142024 ACS 5-Year2,62998th percentileof 33,7722024 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

45/ 100
Ranks 1,911 of 3,124 published ZIP 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 49 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, rather than for 00728 alone.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Ponce, PR, which contains 00728, rather than for 00728 alone.

Units permitted
49
2025 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 11% nationally
Year over year
+26%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Ponce, PR, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 63°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.5 inches.

50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PONCE 4 E, 9.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals63°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year32024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals6°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
3
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
38
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

8 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and inland flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 56% 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.

EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneHigh
LandslideElevated

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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Ponce carries the figure where its 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.
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 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Bottom 35%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 13%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 9%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%Bottom 28%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
MerceditaPSE7 mi8,002 ft
Luis Munoz Marin IntlSJU53 mi10,400 ft
Henry E RohlsenSTX124 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
49
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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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
2025 calendar 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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

00728 vs Ponce

How this ZIP area compares with Ponce as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

00728
Ponce
Median household income: 00728 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$23,031
vs
$19,470
Per capita income: Ponce is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$13,920
vs
$15,221
Population density
2,373/sq mi
vs
3,802/sq mi
Median home value
$111,000
vs
$113,100
Median gross rent: Ponce is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$568
vs
$536
Homeownership rate
75.6%
vs
65.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Ponce is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
27.2%
vs
31.6%
Poverty rate: 00728 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
48.4%
vs
49.3%
Median age
40.8
vs
44.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.