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Ponce

Puerto Ricozona urbana

Photograph of Ponce
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Ponce

Total population

101,024

Median home value

$125,300

27.8%

Bachelor's+

Median income

$22,061

Ponce$22k
National$74k

Founded

1692

Elevation10 m
Land area118.56 km²
Weather91°F · Isolated Rain Showers
Coordinates18.00°, -66.62°

Demographic figures from US Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.

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City facts

Founded
1692
Elevation
10 m
Area
118.56 km²

Sister cities

Facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Overview

Ponce is a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692 and is named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur, La Ciudad Señorial, and La Ciudad de las Quenepas.

Read more on Wikipedia

History & geography

History

The region of what is now Ponce belonged to the Taíno Guaynia region, which stretched along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Agüeybaná, a cacique who led the region, was among those who greeted Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León when he came to the island in 1508. Archaeological findings have identified four sites within the municipality of Ponce with archaeological significance: Canas, Tibes, Caracoles, and El Bronce. During the first years of the colonization, Spanish families started settling around the Jacaguas River, in the south of the island. For security reasons, these families moved to the banks of the Rio Portugués, then called Baramaya. Starting around 1646 the whole area from the Rio Portugués to the Bay of Guayanilla was called Ponce. In 1670, a small chapel was raised in the middle of the small settlement and dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Among its earliest settlers were Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, and the Portuguese Don Pedro Rodríguez de Guzmán, from nearby San Germán. On September 17, 1692, the King of Spain Carlos II issued a Cédula Real (Royal Permit) converting the chapel into a parish, and in so doing officially recognizing the small settlement as a hamlet. It is believed that Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, Juan Ponce de León's great-grandson, was instrumental in obtaining the royal permit to formalize the founding of the hamlet. Captains Enrique Salazar and Miguel del Toro were also instrumental. The city is named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. In the early 18th century Don Antonio Abad Rodriguez Berrios built a small chapel under the name of San Antonio Abad. The area would later receive the name of San Antón, a historically important part of modern Ponce.…

Geography

The Municipality of Ponce sits on the Southern Coastal Plain region of the Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by the municipalities of Adjuntas, Utuado, Jayuya, Peñuelas, and Juana Díaz. Ponce is a large municipality, with only Arecibo larger in land area in Puerto Rico. In terms of physical features, the municipality occupies a roughly rectangular area in south-central portion of the Island of approximately wide (east-to-west) by long (north-to-south). It has a surface area of . The main physiographic features of the municipality of Ponce are: (1) the mountainous interior containing the headwaters of the main river systems, (2) an upper plain, (3) a range of predominantly east-west trending limestone hills, (4) a coastal plain, and (5) a coastal flat. The northern two-thirds of the municipality consists of the mountainous interior, with the southern third divided between hills, coastal plains, and the coastal flat. Ponce's municipal territory reaches the central mountain range to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. Geographically speaking, the southern area of the territory is part of the Ponce-Patillas alluvial plain subsector and the southern coastal plain, which were created by the consolidation of the valleys of the southern side of the central mountain range and the Cayey mountain range. The central area of the municipality is part of the semi-arid southern hills. These two regions are classified as being the driest on the island. The northern part of the municipality is considered to be within the rainy western mountains. Barrio Anón is home to Cerro Maravilla, a peak that at is Puerto Rico's fourth highest peak. Nineteen barrios comprise the rural areas of the municipality, and the topology of their lands varies from…

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Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).

Demographics & economy

Median age
45.8
Median home value
$125,300
Housing units
57,739
Poverty rate
44.2%
Unemployment
14.4%

Race & ethnicity

White
16.2%
Black
4.6%
Asian
0.1%
Hispanic
98.9%

Source: US Census Bureau — American Community Survey, 5-year estimates.

Geography

Latitude
17.9997
Longitude
-66.6237
Water area
9.21 mi²
View on OpenStreetMap

Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.

Climate

Current forecast

This Afternoon
91°F
Isolated Rain Showers
Tonight
78°F
Clear
Saturday
92°F
Sunny
Saturday Night
79°F
Mostly Clear then Isolated Rain Showers
Sunday
91°F
Isolated Rain Showers
Sunday Night
77°F
Partly Cloudy

Forecast for Ponce, PR from NOAA NWS API.

Air quality

Industrial & pollution facilities

Natural hazard risk

Health (adults)

Walkability

Amenities nearby

Wildlife & biodiversity

Observations (last 5 yrs, 10 mi)
70,708
Distinct species (top 10)
10

Most-observed species

  • Greater Antillean Grackle
    Quiscalus niger (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
    1,562
  • Gray Kingbird
    Tyrannus dominicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
    1,493
  • Turkey Vulture
    Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
    1,316
  • White-winged Dove
    Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
    1,312
  • Bananaquit
    Coereba flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
    1,271
  • Brown Pelican
    Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
    961
  • Northern Mockingbird
    Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
    887
  • Great Egret
    Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
    810

Citizen-science & research observations from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

Schools

Total
41
Elementary
22
Middle
8
High
8
Other
3

Largest nearby schools

  • BERNARDINO CORDERO BERNARD
    High · PONCE · 1,172 students · 12.7:1 ratio
  • PONCE HIGH SCHOOL
    High · PONCE · 557 students · 13:1 ratio
  • SUPERIOR JARDINES DE PONCE
    High · PONCE · 519 students · 14.8:1 ratio
  • HERMINIA GARCIA
    Elementary · PONCE · 472 students · 14.3:1 ratio
  • FERNANDO LUIS MALAVE OLIVERA
    Elementary · PONCE · 424 students · 9.6:1 ratio
  • ANGELA CORDERO BERNARD
    Elementary · PONCE · 407 students · 12.7:1 ratio
  • JUAN CUEVAS ABOY
    Elementary · PONCE · 406 students · 16.2:1 ratio
  • SUPERIOR JUAN SERRALLES
    High · PONCE · 404 students · 16.2:1 ratio

Public K–12 schools within ~10 mi from Urban Institute Education Data Portal (NCES Common Core of Data, 2022).

Earthquake history

Quakes ≥ 2.5 (25 yrs, 62 mi)
15,385
Largest magnitude
6.4
Largest event
2020-01-07

Most recent

Events from the USGS Earthquake Catalog (global) (FDSN Event Web Service).

Photos

Sights & places nearby

Notable people from here

People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.

Nearby places in Puerto Rico

Browse all places in Puerto Rico →

Geography & sun

Avg solar (kWh/m²/day)
5.76
Annual solar (kWh/m²)
2,104

Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.

Nearby airports

Public attention

Wikipedia views (last 30 days)
5,293
Avg daily Wikipedia views
176
Attention level
Quiet

Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.

Books about Ponce

Search results from Open Library.

Recent natural events nearby

Ground air-quality sensors

Recently spotted species

Research-grade observations from iNaturalist (within ~15 mi).

Nearest stream gauge

Site
RIO PORTUGUES AT PARQUE CEREMONIAL TIBES NR PONCE
Distance
3 mi
Streamflow
2.3 cfs
Gage height
2.26 ft

Live readings from USGS NWIS · measured 2026-10-16 12:45 UTC.

Events

Sources

  • • Wikipedia
  • • US Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates)
  • • NOAA National Weather Service
  • • Wikidata
  • • USGS Earthquake Catalog (global feed)
  • • USGS NWIS (water data)
  • • NCES via Urban Institute Education Data Portal
  • • GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility)
  • • iNaturalist
  • • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
  • • Wikipedia Pageviews API
  • • Open Library