This is a list of communities known for possessing a large number of Stateside Puerto Ricans. Over 38 percent of Stateside Puerto Ricans live in just two states, namely Florida and New York, although large numbers can also be found in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. There are many states with smaller but fast-growing Puerto Rican populations including Rhode Island in the Northeast, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas down south, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin in the Midwest, and California and Hawaii out west.
Lists Communities with the largest Puerto Rican populations The top 50 U.S. communities with the largest populations of Puerto Ricans (Source: Census 2020)
The 25 counties with the largest Puerto Rican populations, include (2020 Census):
Communities with highest percentages of Puerto Ricans The top 50 US communities (over 5,000 in population) with the highest percentages of Puerto Ricans as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2020)
The 25 large cities (over 200,000 in population) with the highest percentages of Puerto Rican residents in relation to total population, include (2020 Census):
The 25 large cities (over 200,000 in population and over 5% Hispanic/Latino) where Puerto Ricans make up the highest percentages of the Hispanic/Latino population, include (2020 Census):
Metropolitan areas with largest Puerto Rican populations The following metropolitan areas have Puerto Rican populations of over 10,000 (Source: 2020 ACS 5-Year Estimates):
New York City-North Jersey, NY-NJ-PA metropolitan area - 1,173,031 (6.1% Puerto Rican) Orlando, FL metropolitan area - 386,706 (15.1% Puerto Rican) Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE metropolitan area - 278,515 (4.6% Puerto Rican) Miami, FL metropolitan area - 225,998 (3.7% Puerto Rican) Chicago, IL-IN-WI metropolitan area - 207,526 (2.2% Puerto Rican) Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL metropolitan area - 201,587 (6.4% Puerto Rican) Boston, MA-NH metropolitan area - 136,015 (2.8% Puerto Rican) Hartford, CT metropolitan area - 120,494 (10.0% Puerto Rican) Springfield, MA metropolitan area - 105,545 (15.1% Puerto Rican) New Haven, CT metropolitan area - 90,996 (10.6% Puerto Rican) Allentown, PA metropolitan area - 77,333 (9.2% Puerto Rican) Washington, DC-MD-VA metropolitan area - 73,119 (1.2% Puerto Rican) Cleveland, OH metropolitan area - 71,778 (3.5% Puerto Rican) Providence, RI-MA metropolitan area - 70,473 (4.3% Puerto Rican) Lakeland–Winter Haven, FL metropolitan area - 68,564 (9.7% Puerto Rican) Worcester, MA metropolitan area - 65,799 (7.0% Puerto Rican) Atlanta, GA metropolitan area - 64,905 (1.1% Puerto Rican) Los Angeles, CA metropolitan area - 61,427 (0.5% Puerto Rican) Dallas–Fort Worth, TX metropolitan area - 57,840 (0.8% Puerto Rican) Bridgeport, CT metropolitan area - 53,574 (5.7% Puerto Rican) Rochester, NY metropolitan area - 53,294 (5.0% Puerto Rican) Houston, TX metropolitan area - 50,066 (0.7% Puerto Rican) Reading, PA metropolitan area - 45,432 (10.8% Puerto Rican) Jacksonville, FL metropolitan area - 43,813 (2.9% Puerto Rican) Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL metropolitan area - 43,114 (6.5% Puerto Rican) Milwaukee, WI metropolitan area - 39,279 (2.5% Puerto Rican) Buffalo, NY metropolitan area - 37,934 (3.4% Puerto Rican) Riverside-San Bernardino, CA metropolitan area - 37,048 (0.7% Puerto Rican) Lancaster, PA metropolitan area - 36,788 (6.8% Puerto Rican) Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area - 36,353 (0.7% Puerto Rican) Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metropolitan area - 33,998 (4.5% Puerto Rican) Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan area - 33,961 (1.9% Puerto Rican) San Antonio, TX metropolitan area - 32,964 (1.3% Puerto Rican) Honolulu, HI metropolitan area - 32,568 (3.3% Puerto Rican) San Francisco–Oakland, CA metropolitan area - 32,021 (0.7% Puerto Rican) Baltimore, MD metropolitan area - 28,301 (1.0% Puerto Rican) Vineland, NJ metropolitan area - 26,287 (17.5% Puerto Rican) San Diego, CA metropolitan area - 25,121 (0.8% Puerto Rican) Charlotte, NC-SC metropolitan area - 24,975 (1.0% Puerto Rican) Las Vegas, NV metropolitan area - 24,330 (1.1% Puerto Rican) Detroit, MI metropolitan area - 24,153 (0.6% Puerto Rican) Port St. Lucie, FL metropolitan area - 23,785 (4.9% Puerto Rican) Seattle, WA metropolitan area - 22,967 (0.6% Puerto Rican) Ocala, FL metropolitan area - 22,863 (6.3% Puerto Rican) Palm Bay, FL metropolitan area - 22,148 (3.7% Puerto Rican) Albany-Schenectady, NY metropolitan area - 21,724 (2.5% Puerto Rican) Austin, TX metropolitan area - 20,614 (0.9% Puerto Rican) Killeen, TX metropolitan area - 20,354 (4.5% Puerto Rican) Harrisburg, PA metropolitan area - 20,087 (3.5% Puerto Rican) Scranton-Wilkes Barre, PA metropolitan area - 19,825 (3.6% Puerto Rican) Trenton, NJ metropolitan area - 19,293 (5.2% Puerto Rican) Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area - 19,204 (1.4% Puerto Rican) Fayetteville, NC metropolitan area - 18,589 (3.6% Puerto Rican) Sarasota, FL metropolitan area - 17,222 (2.1% Puerto Rican) Atlantic City, NJ metropolitan area - 17,103 (6.5% Puerto Rican) York, PA metropolitan area - 17,098 (3.8% Puerto Rican) Denver, CO metropolitan area - 16,566 (0.6% Puerto Rican) Sacramento, CA metropolitan area - 16,532 (0.7% Puerto Rican) Columbus, OH metropolitan area - 15,099 (0.7% Puerto Rican) Norwich-New London, CT metropolitan area - 14,458 (5.4% Puerto Rican) Richmond, VA metropolitan area - 13,686 (1.1% Puerto Rican) Lebanon, PA metropolitan area - 13,423 (9.6% Puerto Rican) Syracuse, NY metropolitan area - 12,928 (2.0% Puerto Rican) Youngstown, OH-PA metropolitan area - 12,045 (2.2% Puerto Rican) Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN–WI metropolitan area - 11,981 (0.3% Puerto Rican) Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area - 10,663 (0.5% Puerto Rican) Nashville, TN metropolitan area - 10,288 (0.5% Puerto Rican)
Puerto Ricans in the Northeast
The Northeastern United States is home to 2.58 million Puerto Ricans, comprising 47% of the Stateside Puerto Rican population nationwide. Lower New England and the NY-NJ-PA area hold the majority of the region's Puerto Rican population. Combined, the New England states are home to over 600,000 Puerto Ricans, with the vast majority in the Lower portion of New England, having a very high concentration of Puerto Ricans.
New York New York City has the largest population of Puerto Ricans in the country outside Puerto Rico itself. Large numbers of Puerto Ricans live in all five boroughs and the borough of the Bronx has the largest number of Puerto Ricans of any U.S. county. Historically, New York City was the center of the Stateside Puerto Rican community. In New York, Puerto Rican populations are significant in New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley, especially Yonkers and other areas throughout Westchester County, Binghamton, Amsterdam, Kingston, Newburgh, Middletown, Haverstraw, and the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area as well. There are also large Puerto Rican populations in the cities of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Geneva, Rochester, Buffalo, and Dunkirk in Western New York.
Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, one-quarter of Puerto Ricans reside in Philadelphia. However, Puerto Ricans are more concentrated in South Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. This area, extending from Harrisburg to the New Jersey border is home to almost half of Puerto Ricans statewide. Cities along this stretch include York, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, Reading, Fullerton, Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. There is also a smaller Puerto Rican presence in towns such as Chester, Coatesville, West Chester, Pottstown, Norristown, Bristol, and Levittown, as well as other areas in the Philadelphia metro area.
Though, the bulk of Pennsylvania's Puerto Rican population is in the southeastern section of the state, other areas including the Scranton-Wilkes Barre-Hazleton area and the Poconos in northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as the Pittsburgh area, New Castle, and Erie in western Pennsylvania also have sizeable Puerto Rican populations present.
New Jersey In New Jersey, a slight majority of Puerto Ricans are located in North Jersey. Cities with significant populations include Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Passaic, North Bergen, Union City Bayonne, Perth Amboy, Dover, Carteret, and Elizabeth. The remaining portion is in South Jersey, including cities like Trenton, Camden, Pennsauken, Vineland, Millville, Pleasantville, and Atlantic City.
Connecticut Connecticut has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans of any state by percentage and has large Puerto Rican populations throughout the state, with the largest in Hartford, East Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Meriden, Waterbury, Bristol, Ansonia, Derby, Manchester, New Britain, New London, Windham, Norwich, and Willimantic. Though, half of the Puerto Rican population in the New England area is situated along the Interstate-91 corridor, extending from New Haven in Connecticut to Holyoke in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts In Massachusetts, the largest Puerto Rican populations are in Holyoke, Springfield, Chicopee, Southbridge, Fitchburg, Leominster, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Lynn, Boston, Chelsea, Brockton, Fall River, Taunton, and New Bedford. The highest percentage of Puerto Ricans in the US proper can be found in Holyoke. Puerto Ricans continue to dominate demographically in the central and western parts of the state. Large portions of the state's Puerto Rican population is in the Boston area.
Rhode Island In Rhode Island, there is a large Puerto Rican population, vast majority of which live in Providence County, especially the cities of Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket. There are smaller numbers of Puerto Ricans in other parts of the state, like Newport.
Puerto Ricans in the South
The Southern United States is home to 1.98 million Puerto Ricans, comprising 35% of the Puerto Rican population nationwide.
Florida Florida is home to two-thirds of the Puerto Rican population in the South. Florida is currently home to the fastest-growing Puerto Rican population of any state. Cubans and Puerto Ricans are Florida's largest Hispanic groups, though unlike the Cuban community which is nearly entirely located in the South Florida and Tampa Bay areas, the Puerto Rican population is far more spread-out and is present in large numbers in Central Florida, South Florida, and North Florida, having large populations in the metro areas of Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville, among other cities. South Florida has a large Puerto Rican population centered around the Miami metro area, yet are largely overlooked by Cuban dominance and the overall diversity of the Miami area, spread out in significant numbers in places like Miami, Homestead, Hialeah, Leisure City, The Hammocks, Miami Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, West Palm Beach, North Miami, Miami Gardens, Pembroke Pines, Tamarac, Miramar, Coral Springs, Davie, Plantation, Margate, Palm Springs, Dania Beach, Pompano Beach, Boynton Beach, Coconut Creek, Fort Lauderdale, and Port St. Lucie. The gulf coast of Florida has significant Puerto Rican populations present in scattered areas, in cities such as, Tampa, Town 'n' Country, Brandon, Riverview, Spring Hill, St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Lakeland, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, and Fort Myers.
Central Florida has the largest Puerto Rican population of any region in the state and the fastest-growing Puerto Rican population in the country.