The municipalities of Puerto Rico (Spanish: municipios de Puerto Rico) are second-level administrative divisions defined with geographic boundaries and governmental authority in the archipelago and island of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S. Amounting to 78 incorporated towns and cities equivalent to U.S. counties, two of which are outside the main island, namely the smaller islands of Vieques and Culebra, the municipalities are governed by a popularly elected strong mayor and unicameral legislature. They are subdivided into 902 barrios, third-level divisions controlled by the municipal government. As a jurisdiction under U.S. sovereignty, Puerto Rico does not have first-level administrative units akin to states or provinces.

The municipalities of Puerto Rico operate under the Municipal Code of Puerto Rico (Law No. 107 of 2020), which superseded the Autonomous Municipalities Act of Puerto Rico (Law No. 81 of 1991), as established by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the governmental body responsible for their organization under Section 1, Article VI of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. Electorally, the municipalities are grouped into eight senatorial districts and forty representative districts, representing roughly equal populations in the Legislative Assembly.

Map The archipelago and island of Puerto Rico is administratively divided into the following 78 municipalities:

List The archipelago and island of Puerto Rico is administratively divided into the following 78 municipalities (alphabetically ordered):

Municipalities of Puerto RicoNameLocationFlagCoat of Arms TitleFIPScodePopulation(2020)AreaFoundedBarrios Town 72001 18,020 List Town 72003 38,136 List City 72005 55,101 List Town 72007 24,223 List Town 72009 24,637 List Town 72011 25,596 List City 72013 87,754 List Town 72015 15,843 List Town 72017 22,657 List Town 72019 28,983 List City 72021 185,187 List Town 72023 47,158 List City 72025 127,244 List Town 72027 32,827 List Town 72029 42,337 List City 72031 154,815 List Town 72033 23,155 List Town 72035 41,652 List Town 72037 11,307 List Town 72039 16,984 List Town 72041 39,970 List Town 72043 34,668 List Town 72045 18,883 List Town 72047 34,571 List Town 72049 1,792 List Town 72051 35,879 List Town 72053 32,124 List Town 72054 11,692 List Town 72055 13,787 List Town 72057 36,614 List Town 72059 17,784 List City 72061 89,780 List Town 72063 40,622 List Town 72065 38,486 List Town 72067 15,654 List City 72069 50,896 List Town 72071 42,943 List Town 7207314,779 List Town 72075 46,538 List Town 72077 37,012 List Town 72079 23,334 List Town 72081 28,105 List Town 72083 8,874 List Town 72085 35,180 List Town 72087 23,693 List Town 72089 17,781 List Town 72091 39,492 List Town 72093 4,755 List Town 72095 10,589 List City 72097 73,077 List Town 72099 37,460 List Town 72101 28,727 List Town 72103 23,386 List Town 72105 29,241 List Town 72107 21,434 List Town 72109 15,985 List Town 72111 20,399 List City 72113 137,491 List Town 72115 23,638 List Town 72117 15,187 List Town 72119 47,060 List Town 72121 22,729 List Town 72123 25,789 List Town 72125 31,879 List City 72127 342,259 El Morro. United States National Park Service. Accessed 6 October 2019. List Town 72129 37,693 List Town 72131 39,345 List Town 72133 20,281 List City 72135 66,852 List City 72137 75,293 List City 72139 67,740 List Town 72141 28,287 List Town 72143 35,395 List City 72145 54,414 List Town 72147 8,249 List Town 72149 22,093 List Town 72151 30,412 List Town 72153 34,172 List

Most populated municipalities

Administration

Since 2020, the municipalities are organized under the Municipal Code of Puerto Rico (Law. No. 107 of 2020). They were previously governed under by the Law of Autonomous Municipalities of Puerto Rico (Law. No. 81 of 1991), which established that every municipality must have an elected strong mayor with a municipal legislature as the form of government. Each legislature must be unicameral, with the number of members related to adequate representation of the total population of the municipality. In contrast to other jurisdictions, both the mayors and the municipal legislators are elected on the same date and for the same term of four years in office.

From a political and ekistic perspective, several differences and similarities exist between municipalities of differing population sizes. For instance, municipalities with 50,000 inhabitants or more are considered incorporated cities, while those with fewer than 50,000 are considered incorporated towns. Size affects the autonomy exercised by the jurisdiction: cities provide and manage their own services, while towns typically depend on nearby cities for certain services. Demographically, municipalities in Puerto Rico are equivalent to counties in the United States, and Puerto Rican municipalities are registered as county subdivisions in the United States census. Statistically, the municipality with the largest number of inhabitants is San Juan, with 342,259, while Culebra is the smallest, with around 1,792. Arecibo is the largest in terms of geography, with around 125 mi2, and Cataño the smallest, with around 4.8 mi2.

Except for San Juan, Ponce, Florida, and Vieques, all municipalities have a barrio equivalent to a downtown area in the U.S. called pueblo, officially known as barrio-pueblo (literally "ward-town"), which typically is the site of the historic Spanish colonial settlement, administrative center, and urban core of the municipality. However, municipalities with large populations, like Ponce, may have an urban core that consist of several barrios.

In Recent Civic Architecture in Porto Rico by Adrian C. Finlayson, architect for the Insular Department of the Interior Architecture, writing for the publication Architectural Record in 1920, the Puerto Rican municipality is accurately described as:

Finances In 2012, 36 of the 78 municipalities (46%) were experiencing a budget deficit. In total, the combined debt carried by the municipalities stands at about US$590 million.

+ Municipality Mayor's party Population Surplus or deficit Surplus or deficit per capita Public debt Public debt per capita Adjuntas PNP 19,483 $ 525,858 $ 26.99 $ $ Aguada PPD 41,959 $ 2,209,807 $ 52.67 $ $ Aguadilla PNP 60,949 $ 10,220,728 $ 167.69 $ $ Aguas Buenas PPD 28,659 $ (1,638,355) $ (57.17) $ 9,183,000 $ 320.42 Aibonito PNP 25,900 $ 681,875 $ 26.33 $ $ Añasco PPD 29,261 $ 2,074,042 $ 70.88 $ $ Arecibo PNP 96,440 $ (17,784,327) $ (184.41) $ 63,403,451 $ 657.44 Arroyo PPD 19,575 $ (390,219) $ (19.93) $ 10,521,000 $ 537.47 Barceloneta PPD 24,816 $ (8,833,426) $ (355.96) $ 59,354,780 $ 2,391.79 Barranquitas PNP 30,318 $ 6,673,615 $ 220.12 $ $ Bayamón PNP 208,116 $ 4,179,967 $ 20.08 $ 243,233,534 $ 1,168.74 Cabo Rojo PPD 50,917 $ (60,841) $ (1.19) $ 35,561,000 $ 698.41 Caguas PPD 142,893 $ 16,938,668 $ 118.54 $ 267,248,251 $ 1,870.27 Camuy PNP 35,159 $ (1,810,542) $ (51.50) $ 11,603,000 $ 330.02 Canóvanas PNP 47,648 $ 203,324 $ 4.27 $ $ Carolina PPD 176,762 $ 32,757,250 $ 185.32 $ 350,605,890 $ 1,983.49 Cataño PPD 28,140 $ (11,320,761) $ (402.30) $ 47,386,000 $ 1,683.94 Cayey PPD 48,119 $ 7,544,584 $ 156.79 $ $ Ceiba PNP 13,631 $ 1,833,525 $ 134.51 $ $ Ciales PPD 18,782 $ (5,465,145) $ (290.98) $ 9,829,100 $ 523.33 Cidra PNP 43,480 $ (1,053,391) $ (24.23) $ 29,445,000 $ 677.21 Coamo PPD 40,512 $ 1,672,291 $ 41.28 $ $ Comerío PPD 20,778 $ 188,417 $ 9.07 $ $ Corozal PPD 37,142 $ 854,163 $ 23.00 $ $ Culebra PPD 1,818 $ 802,707 $ 441.53 $ $ Dorado PPD 38,165 $ 2,620,615 $ 68.67 $ $ Fajardo PNP 36,993 $ 17,821,689 $ 481.76 $ $ Florida PNP 12,680 $ (1,619,740) $ (127.74) $ 3,702,000 $ 291.96 Guánica PNP 19,427 $ (5,319,384) $ (273.81) $ 8,815,000 $ 453.75 Guayama PPD 45,362 $ 1,987,097 $ 43.81 $ $ Guayanilla PPD 21,581 $ (2,706,166) $ (125.40) $ 16,818,000 $ 779.30 Guaynabo PNP 97,924 $ 8,216,448 $ 83.91 $ 290,116,691 $ 2,962.67 Gurabo PNP 45,369 $ (5,797,927) $ (127.79) $ 46,390,045 $ 1,022.51 Hatillo PPD 41,953 $ (1,024,986) $ (24.43) $ 15,456,830 $ 368.43 Hormigueros PPD 17,250 $ 1,288,509 $ 74.70 $ $ Humacao PPD 58,466 $ 11,360,216 $ 194.30 $ $ Isabela PPD 45,631 $ 24,738,813 $ 542.15 $ 16,397,000 $ 359.34 Jayuya PPD 16,642 $ 629,946 $ 37.85 $ $ Juana Díaz PPD 79,897 $ 32,789,400 $ 97.89 $ 22,005,000 $ 433.62 Juncos PPD 40,290 $ (2,994,898) $ (74.33) $ 44,404,819 $ 1,102.13 Lajas PPD 25,753 $ (1,988,168) $ (77.20) $ 11,075,000 $ 430.05 Lares PNP 30,753 $ (3,361,629) $ (109.31) $ 5,339,000 $ 173.61 Las Marías PPD 9,881 $ 660,746 $ 66.87 $ $ Las Piedras PNP 38,675 $ 362,063 $ 9.36 $ $ Loíza PNP 30,060 $ (3,171,401) $ (105.50) $ 9,207,000 $ 306.29 Luquillo PPD 20,068 $ 1,646,739 $ 82.06 $ $ Manatí PNP 44,113 $ (12,622,526) $ (286.14) $ 52,688,487 $ 1,194.40 Maricao PNP 6,276 $ (1,812,106) $ (288.74) $ 10,928,300 $ 1,741.28 Maunabo PPD 12,225 $ (2,678,351) $ (219.09) $ 8,600,000 $ 703.48 Mayagüez PPD 89,080 $ 10,816,117 $ 121.42 $ $ Moca PNP 40,109 $ 632,570 $ 15.77 $ $ Morovis PNP 32,610 $ (3,742,360) $ (114.76) $ 20,239,020 $ 620.64 Naguabo PNP 26,720 $ (3,737,140) $ (139.86) $ 7,905,100 $ 295.85 Naranjito PNP 30,402 $ 1,581,161 $ 52.01 $ $ Orocovis PNP 23,423 $ 367,461 $ 15.69 $ $ Patillas PPD 19,277 $ (6,001,248) $ (311.32) $ 17,179,000 $ 891.17 Peñuelas PPD 24,282 $ 4,106,788 $ 169.13 $ $ Ponce PNP 166,327 $ (18,480,789) $ (111.11) $ 190,625,905 $ 1,146.09 Quebradillas PPD 25,919 $ 2,327,410 $ 89.80 $ $ Rincón PPD 15,200 $ 1,992,326 $ 131.07 $ $ Río Grande PPD 54,304 $ (4,147,852) $ (76.38) $ 32,059,000 $ 590.36 Sabana Grande PPD 25,265 $ (2,835,535) $ (112.23) $ 10,176,423 $ 402.79 Salinas PPD 31,078 $ (8,546,853) $ (275.01) $ 14,650,000 $ 471.39 San Germán PPD 35,527 $ 760,077 $ 21.39 $ $ San Juan PPD 395,326 $ (45,455,571) $ (114.98) $ 668,238,329 $ 1,690.35 San Lorenzo PPD 41,058 $ (2,998,994) $ (73.04) $ 27,034,000 $ 658.43 San Sebastián PNP 42,430 $ 2,296,524 $ 54.13 $ $ Santa Isabel PNP 23,274 $ (3,900,907) $ (167.61) $ 23,273,736 $ 999.99 Toa Alta PPD 74,066 $ (3,387,399) $ (45.73) $ 33,140,000 $ 447.44 Toa Baja PNP 89,609 $ (10,543,311) $ (117.66) $ 116,363,919 $ 1,298.57 Trujillo Alto PPD 74,842 $ (1,736,394) $ (23.20) $ 55,516,000 $ 741.78 Utuado PPD 33,149 $ (3,007,984) $ (90.74) $ 8,174,000 $ 246.58 Vega Alta PNP 39,951 $ 3,408,501 $ 85.32 $ $ Vega Baja PPD 59,662 $ (1,849,612) $ (31.00) $ 44,303,000 $ 742.57 Vieques PPD 9,301 $ (6,672,774) $ (717.43) $ 12,420,100 $ 1,335.35 Villalba PPD 26,073 $ (2,228,520) $ (85.47) $ 9,969,216 $ 382.36 Yabucoa PPD 37,941 $ (2,216,509) $ (58.42) $ 17,394,380 $ 458.46 Yauco PNP 42,043 $ (5,049,263) $ (120.10) $ 39,904,000 $ 949.12

Racial composition The following is an alphabetical list of the municipalities and their population together with a breakdown of their racial composition.