Vega Baja, Puerto Rico

Area Profile

22,756 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Vega Baja, in Vega Baja Municipio.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 22% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity3,139th of 4,199 cities measured45
SchoolsTop 35% of 4,162 cities measured61
Growth3,588th of 4,224 cities measured30
Housing affordability3,183rd of 4,218 cities measured53
ClimateTop 8% of 4,225 cities measured89
Physical resilience3,103rd of 4,226 cities measured34
Access3,079th of 4,226 cities measured84
Economic stability4,202nd of 4,226 cities measured12
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 6.8% and the Opportunity signal places Vega Baja in the bottom 25%. The unemployment rate is published for Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains Vega Baja, rather than for Vega Baja alone.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 30 units authorized over the past twelve months, 78% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains Vega Baja, rather than for Vega Baja 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
22,756
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$23,353
Bottom 2% nationally
Density
3,734/sq mi
6.1 sq mi of land
Median age
43.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Puerto Rico
Nearest major airport
SJU
26 mi · Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Median home value
$119,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains Vega Baja, is 6.8% — higher than in all but 5% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains Vega Baja, grew 2.9% over the past year, to 18,108 employed residents.

Median household income of $23,353 is lower than in 98% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,0872024 ACS 5-Year$23,353Bottom 2%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1442024 ACS 5-Year$14,675Bottom 3%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year42.5%Bottom 4%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.3 minBottom 24%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.8%Top 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year89.9%86th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentVega Baja Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 202618,108Bottom 20%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Vega Baja Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026+6.5%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Vega Baja Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026+2.9%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceVega Baja Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 202619,43421st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year65.5%Bottom 19%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSan Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$39,970Bottom 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSan Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$29,440Bottom 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Vega Baja Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 2026+1.1%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateVega Baja Municipio, PR’s figureJuly 20266.8%Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%18th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202423k20k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $23,353 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 — San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons27,950$22,780
Security Guards22,420$21,840
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners21,530$21,930
Cashiers18,010$22,300
Fast Food and Counter Workers17,900$22,130
Customer Service Representatives15,940$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 publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains this city.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.4 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
29.1%
Bottom 39% in Puerto Rico
Reading proficiency
47.6%
Top 32% in Puerto Rico
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lino Padro RiveraPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION67614.117%47%
Brigida Alvarez RodriguezPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION60410.158%71%
Manuel Martinez DavilaPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION42411.215%33%
Almirante NortePUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION4129.825%39%
Juan Quirindongo MorellPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION3759.63%47%
Rafael Hernandez Vega BajaPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION27110.852%52%
Agapito Rosario RosarioPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION2457.749%40%
San VicentePUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION24211.542%52%
Angel Sandin MartinezPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION2337.84%30%
Christian Military Academy Alianza · charterPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION19517.7——
Centro De AdiestramientoPUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION664.7——

87.5% 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.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $663, close to the $628 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 113% of the median household income here of $23,353.

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 $628 a month.

A median home at $119,100 costs 4.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $25,707, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
30.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$663
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$628
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$119,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Vega Baja’s median household income of $23,353, 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-Year4.6Bottom 11%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.5%41st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6092024 ACS 5-Year11,74795th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$572Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$868Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$663Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$822024 ACS 5-Year$628Top 10%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,0442024 ACS 5-Year$119,10027th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,8592024 ACS 5-Year$25,707Bottom 1%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year30.6%Bottom 38%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1222024 ACS 5-Year20694th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.8%68th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year18.1%85th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3472024 ACS 5-Year2,33098th 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

30/ 100
Ranks 3,588 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 30 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains Vega Baja, rather than for Vega Baja alone.

At 0.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Vega Baja Municipio, PR, which contains Vega Baja, rather than for Vega Baja alone.

Units permitted
30
2025 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
0.6
Bottom 16% nationally
Year over year
−78%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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

Weather & climate

9 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 66°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 64.5 inches.

50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PALMAREJO VEGA BAJA, 4.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals64.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals66°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals91991-2020 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

34 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tsunami, hurricane and earthquake, with tsunami alone responsible for 33% 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 where the American Community Survey reports them, though not for this place. 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 Luis Munoz Marin Intl at 26 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year70.4%Bottom 9%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle26 miBottom 33%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.5%Bottom 6%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Luis Munoz Marin IntlSJU26 mi10,400 ft
MerceditaPSE32 mi8,002 ft
Henry E RohlsenSTX117 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
51
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Other cities in San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
San JuanSan Juan Municipio317,99551San Juan vs Vega Baja
BayamónBayamón Municipio166,92345Bayamón vs Vega Baja
CarolinaCarolina Municipio138,63350Carolina vs Vega Baja
CaguasCaguas Municipio72,92247
GuaynaboGuaynabo Municipio70,59955
Trujillo AltoTrujillo Alto Municipio43,61160
Mansión del MarToa Baja Municipio25,51058
FajardoFajardo Municipio24,26951
CatañoCataño Municipio22,467—
HumacaoHumacao Municipio15,78744
CandelariaToa Baja Municipio14,86860
CayeyCayey Municipio14,65553

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 Vega Baja side by side with a similar place.

Vega Baja vs GretnaVega Baja vs Abbeville

Moving to Vega Baja 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 Vega Baja

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Vega Baja 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 Vega Baja 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.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0069355,387$24,596$123,400—