How Puerto Rican Income Compares to the US

Puerto Ricans make about half the income of the poorest US state, Mississippi. Below is a link to a good article comparing both to the US general economy. Data from the 2010 Census says the per capita income of Puerto Ricans was $16,300. It was 48,377.39 for the US in that same year. Today, that ratio is roughly the same.

We are doing better than our neighbors in the Caribbean though, ranking 77 on the list of world economies. But what income is available is spread out into a larger middle class than anywhere else in our region. So, while there are still pockets of extreme poverty, it doesn't feel like such dire poverty as I have felt in some downtown US cities.


How Mississippi is Catching Up - and Puerto Rico Is Not - Puerto Rico Report