Puerto Rico is a Caribbean archipelago, consisting of one large main island and several much smaller islands. It is located between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to its south, and the Atlantic Ocean to its north. Its closest point to the USA is the southern tip of Florida, which is located around 1,100 miles to the northwest of the island.

Is Puerto Rico part of the United States of America?

Puerto Rico is designated by the U.S. Government as a commonwealth. In terms of real-world application, Puerto Rico is treated as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States with local self-government. 

• As such, the island of Puerto Rico is neither an independent country nor a U.S. state.

• However, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and are free to move and work in any of the 50 U.S. states.

Territory VS State

Citizens of Puerto Rico have American citizenship and passports and can freely travel or work in any of the 50 U.S. states.

The major difference between Puerto Rico’s unincorporated organized territory status and statehood is found in federal taxes and voting. Puerto Ricans are exempt from most federal taxes, but it’s also this lack of taxation that results in a lack of voting representation in either the house of the U.S. Congress or the right to vote in presidential elections. Puerto Ricans pay Social Security and Medicare tax but do not pay federal income tax.

1898: Spanish-American War

In 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the United States of America as a consequence of the Treaty of Paris.

Over the following 20 years, acts allowed the US Government to have a more direct role in Puerto Rican affairs – at the same time, a public school system was established, and infrastructure such as sanitation networks and highways were constructed.

The 1917 Jones Act granted US Citizenship to all Puerto Ricans, allowing them to move freely between the island and the mainland. However, even though Puerto Rico is part of the USA, it does not have the same representation in the House of Congress that any one of its 50 states has. As an unincorporated territory of the USA, American citizens in Puerto Rico do not vote for the president or vice president – instead, the island is represented in the House of Congress by only one non-voting member.

Although, since 1952, the territory has elected a governor as its head of state, it has no voting representatives in the House of Congress.

U.S. Territorial status

All U.S. territories are either categorized as:

1. Organized or unorganized

   • Do they have a territorial constitution?

2. Incorporated or unincorporated.

   • This means how much of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws are applied in the territory.

The U.S Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico are all organized unincorporated territories. American Samoa, by comparison, is an unorganized, unincorporated territory. People born in America Samoa are U.S. nationals and are NOT U.S. Citizens.

Puerto Rico: Commonwealth

Puerto Rico is technically classified as a commonwealth and not a territory. However, in the real world, Puerto Rico’s commonwealth status is treated as an organized unincorporated territory. In theory, commonwealths have more local autonomy than territories, however, the application of such localized authority is mostly theoretical.

Puerto Rico’s Flag

The Puerto Rican flag was designed in 1892 by a group of rebels seeking independence for Puerto Rico during an anti-Spain revolt. The Puerto Rican flag was modeled after the Cuban flag, although both the Cuban and Puerto Rican flags were inspired by the U.S. flag. (Puerto Rico’s flag is the image on the left with the blue triangle).

Jesse is the Director of Pedal Chile and lives in La Patagonia and Puerto Rico. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health and Human Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Hobbies: Mountain biking, bicycle commuting, reading, snowboarding, researching, and sampling yummy craft beers.

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References & Sources for “Is Puerto Rico Part of the US?”

1. Blocher, Joseph, and G. Mitu Gulati. “Puerto Rico and the Right of Accession.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017, 10.2139/ssrn.2988102. ‌

2. “How Are U.S. States, Territories, and Commonwealths Designated in the Geographic Names Information System?” Www.usgs.gov.

3. Hunter, Lawrence. “Leave No State or Territory Behind: Formulating a Pro-Growth Economic Strategy for Puerto Rico.” Www.ipi.org, 7 2003, www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/leave-no-state-or-territory-behind-formulating-a-pro-growth-economic-strategy-for-puerto-rico.

4. Internal Revenue Service. “Topic No. 901 Is a Person with Income from Puerto Rico Required to File a U.S. Federal Income Tax Return? | Internal Revenue Service.” Www.irs.gov, 13 Mar. 2021, www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc901.

5. Mack, Doug. The Not-Quite States of America : Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA. New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

6. “Puerto Rico - the World Factbook.” Www.cia.gov, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/.

7. “Puerto Rico - the Debate over Political Status.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/place/Puerto-Rico/The-debate-over-political-status.

8. “Puerto Rican Culture.” Topuertorico.org, 2019, welcome.topuertorico.org/culture/.

9. “The Meaning of ‘Commonwealth.’” Puerto Rico Report, www.puertoricoreport.com/the-meaning-of-commonwealth/#.YH965B17now.

10. TUBS. “Deutsch: Lage von Puerto Rico in Nordamerika.” Wikimedia Commons, 26 Mar. 2011. (1st Image of Puerto Rico location)

11. “Unincorporated Territories of the United States.” Wikipedia, 16 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unincorporated_territories_of_the_United_States.