Where Do the Most Puerto Ricans Live in the U.S.?
The stateside Puerto Rican population reached 5,965,360, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. That figure counts Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states, and it does not include the roughly 3 million residents of the island of Puerto Rico itself. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, so movement between the island and the mainland is domestic migration, not immigration, and it shows up clearly in where communities have grown and where they have thinned.
Largest Puerto Rican populations by metro area
| Rank | Metro area | Puerto Rican residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | 1,077,573 |
| 2 | Orlando, FL | 399,412 |
| 3 | Philadelphia, PA | 285,299 |
| 4 | Miami, FL | 224,306 |
| 5 | Chicago, IL | 207,529 |
| 6 | Tampa, FL | 205,150 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | 129,188 |
| 8 | Hartford, CT | 112,347 |
Largest Puerto Rican populations by city
| Rank | City | Puerto Rican residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | 581,101 |
| 2 | Philadelphia, PA | 126,989 |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | 90,606 |
| 4 | Springfield, MA | 59,920 |
| 5 | Orlando, FL | 46,375 |
| 6 | Jacksonville, FL | 38,782 |
| 7 | Hartford, CT | 35,786 |
| 8 | Cleveland, OH | 31,854 |
For most of the last century, the answer to "where do the most Puerto Ricans live" was simple: New York. It still holds the top metro spot. The New York metro area counts 1,077,573 Puerto Ricans, and New York City alone has 581,101. No other single city comes close. The postwar "Great Migration" from the island landed first in East Harlem and the South Bronx, and those neighborhoods seeded a community that still anchors the Northeast.
Florida Is Now the Center of Gravity
The bigger story is where the population has been moving. Florida now leads all states with 1,245,819 Puerto Ricans, edging past New York at 1,004,934. That gap is narrow, but the direction of travel is not in doubt. Central Florida did most of the lifting. The Orlando metro holds 399,412 Puerto Ricans, making it the second-largest metro concentration in the country, and the Tampa metro adds 205,150. The Miami metro counts another 224,306.
The pull toward Florida picked up sharply after Hurricane Maria in 2017, when tens of thousands left the island and many chose Orlando and Tampa over the older Northeastern hubs. Warmer weather, cheaper housing than New York, and a growing Spanish-speaking service economy all played a part. Inside Florida, the city numbers are more spread out than in the Northeast. The city of Orlando proper holds 46,375, and Jacksonville has 38,782, with much of the population living across suburbs like those in Osceola County rather than in one dense core.
The Northeastern Anchors Still Matter
New York's dominance never stood alone. A string of older industrial cities across the Northeast built Puerto Rican communities through the same midcentury migration, and several remain heavily concentrated. The Philadelphia metro counts 285,299, and the city of Philadelphia holds 126,989, the second-largest city count in the country. Pennsylvania ranks third among states at 481,068, with New Jersey close behind at 475,835.
The Chicago metro adds 207,529, and the city of Chicago holds 90,606, centered historically on the Humboldt Park corridor. New England has its own dense clusters. The Hartford metro counts 112,347 and the Boston metro 129,188. Hartford itself has 35,786, and Springfield, Massachusetts, holds 59,920, one of the highest Puerto Rican shares of any city population in the nation. Massachusetts ranks fifth among states at 326,360 and Connecticut sixth at 292,677.
Beyond the coasts, older factory towns in the Midwest kept smaller but durable communities. Cleveland counts 31,854 Puerto Ricans, a reminder that the migration reached well past the eastern seaboard into cities that once offered manufacturing work.
Reading the Two Maps Together
Put the metro and state numbers side by side and you get two overlapping maps. One is the old Northeastern spine that runs from Boston and Hartford through New York and Philadelphia to Chicago. The other is the newer Florida corridor from Orlando through Tampa to Miami. New York still has the single largest metro and city, but Florida has passed it at the state level, and the four Florida metros in the top rankings show why. The mainland Puerto Rican population is not shrinking. It is redistributing, and Central Florida is where the arrow points.
You can see the full ordering on the largest Puerto Rican population metros, cities, and states rankings. To line up any two places directly, from Orlando versus New York to Florida versus Pennsylvania, use the compare tool.
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
Largest Puerto Rican Population Metros
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Where do the most Puerto Ricans live in the U.S.?
The New York metro area has the largest stateside Puerto Rican population at 1,077,573, and New York City alone counts 581,101. At the state level, however, Florida now leads with 1,245,819, just ahead of New York's 1,004,934.
Which state has the most Puerto Ricans?
Florida leads all states with 1,245,819 Puerto Ricans, edging past New York at 1,004,934. Pennsylvania (481,068), New Jersey (475,835), Massachusetts (326,360), and Connecticut (292,677) round out the top states.
Does this count the island of Puerto Rico?
No. These figures are the stateside, or mainland, Puerto Rican population of 5,965,360 as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. They do not include residents of the island of Puerto Rico itself. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth.
