Puerto rican where is it

Puerto Rican population, though, mask substantial differences in the growth and demographic profiles of those born on the mainland versus those born on the island. Mainland-born Puerto Ricans are younger and have higher household incomes, and their children or elderly are less likely to be in poverty.

They are more likely to have attended college than their island-born counterparts. The stateside Puerto Rican origin population once was very highly concentrated in the Northeast, especially New York, but now is more widely dispersed.

The population in other regions of the U. The South—particularly Florida—has been the top regional destination in recent years for Puerto Ricans moving from the island to the mainland and for Puerto Ricans relocating from other regions within the U. However, the gap between the number of departures and arrivals has widened in recent years, according to U.

Census Bureau data that indicate a growing net loss of migrants. Census Bureau—now live on the mainland. By another estimate, the proportion of people ages 16 and older born in Puerto Rico who live on the U. One challenge in comparing current migration from Puerto Rico with that of the great migration wave of the s and s is a shortage of reliable data. In previous decades, estimates were made mainly using figures for airline passenger traffic between the island and mainland.

However, U. Census Bureau researchers have concluded that this method produced estimates that were too high Christenson, Using passenger-traffic data, the Census Bureau had estimated that from to , , more people left Puerto Rico for the mainland than arrived from there.

Using a new method based on data from the Census Bureau and Immigration and Naturalization Service now Department of Homeland Security , the bureau in lowered that estimate to , The bureau also estimated that from to , the island lost , more people to the mainland than it gained. For to , the bureau estimated Puerto Rico had a net loss of , people younger than 65 Bhaskar et al, More recent Census Bureau estimates put the net loss for all age groups at , for to Migration from the island was relatively low during the s; even using the passenger-traffic method, it was less than 27, Duany, Therefore, recent migration from the island is the highest since at least the s.

By , the population had more than tripled, to 3. According to Census Bureau researchers, the island had a net loss to the mainland of , migrants younger than 65 for the years from the census to the census Bhaskar et al, From July to July , about , more people of all ages left the island for the mainland than the other way around, according to Census Bureau population estimates.

Most but not all were Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin. More recent migrants to the mainland have been found to be less educated than those who remain on the island and more likely to hold less skilled jobs Mora, Davila and Rodriguez, However, the two groups are quite similar. Some Census Bureau statistics about the island used in this report are only available for the total population, and not specifically for Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin.

They include the population not yet released for Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin at the time this report was published , as well as net migration statistics departures from the island minus arrivals. In addition, counts for Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin on the island are not available before because the Hispanic-origin question was not asked on the island census until then. These included an end to longstanding Puerto Rican government corporate tax breaks in , which led to business shutdowns and public- and private-sector layoffs.

The island also benefits from ties to the U. This report mainly analyzes the demographic and economic characteristics of Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin living in the 50 U. It compares these various groups with each other and with other U.

In addition, the report examines characteristics of recent migrants from Puerto Rico to the mainland and compares them with earlier migrants. This report explores the demographic and economic characteristics of Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin, both on the island of Puerto Rico and on the U. It also analyzes characteristics of recent migrants from the island to the mainland and compares them with those of previous waves of migrants.

The data in this report come from the U. This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals on the staff of the Pew Research Center. Danielle Cuddington, research assistant, assembled data for the Puerto Rico maps that are in this report and online. The authors thank Jeffrey S. Find all your answers here! This is a revised and expanded version of an explainer we originally published in November Puerto Rico isn't an independent country , since it's under US control.

But it is sometimes treated like a separate nation, participating as an observer in some international organizations with US approval , and sending its own teams to the Olympics and FIFA soccer matches. Technically, Puerto Rico isn't considered part of the US, even though certain laws treat it like it is for example, it's included in the US for import and export purposes.

Instead, the law says it belongs to the US as a type of possession called an "unincorporated territory". Unincorporated territories are places where courts have said the US constitution doesn't apply unless and until the the US government says so. It's also possible for a territory to be "incorporated" as part of the country. Besides the 50 states and the District of Columbia national capital zone Washington, DC , the only incorporated territory of the US today is the remote, uninhabited Pacific island of Palmyra Atoll.

Although the territory has no voting representation in the US legislature, it does have a non-voting delegate, known as the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. In short, because its people haven't firmly asked for it. Though the original decision not to make Puerto Rico part of the the US was based on blatantly racist court rulings in the early s, its people voted in to remain a self-governing territory instead of a state.

Several referendums since then have been less conclusive. Support for Puerto Rico's current status has plummeted, but votes in and were carried out in controversial ways, failing to a get a clear picture of whether the majority of Puerto Ricans want to become a US state more details in our article on the referendum. But that might be about to change. And if they choose yes, there's a very real chance the territory could become a state in the coming years.

To learn all about what's happening, how things might turn out, and how Puerto Rico would compare to the other 50 or 51 states, check out our explainer on the Puerto Rico statehood referendum.

Anyone born in Puerto Rico is automatically a US citizen. They're also citizens of Puerto Rico - but since this second citizenship isn't from an independent country, they have to use US passports to travel internationally. Although their citizenship is granted by the US legislature and not guaranteed by the US constitution, today Puerto Ricans are legally considered Americans in every way.

That includes eligibility to serve in the US military, where quite a few of them have risen to high ranks. But voting is a different story It's complicated. Since Puerto Rico has no senators or voting representatives in the US legislature, residents of Puerto Rico don't have any way to vote for representation in the US government. Similarly, since the president of the United States isn't elected through a popular vote , but by electors appointed by the states and the District of Columbia DC , Puerto Rico residents aren't able to vote in the main presidential election.

But notice that we said Puerto Rico residents. Since all American citizens have the right to live anywhere in the US, a Puerto Rican who moves to one of the 50 states can vote for president or legislators there instead. And many do move - some even serve in the legislature as representatives of their new states. It also goes both ways: If an American from the states moves to Puerto Rico, they can't vote for legislators or the president unless they're still a legal resident of one of the states or DC or if they're in the military.