Poll: One in four Puerto Ricans seriously considering leaving the island

But 70% say they will stay on the island despite difficult economic situation

Editor’s note: During the past two years, Gaither International has conducted a series of surveys asking Puerto Ricans if they were considering or had considered moving from Puerto Rico to escape the island’s economic crisis and/or to improve their quality of life. Back in June 2006, one-third of the Puerto Rican population was seriously considering moving, while in November of the same year, though numbers had significantly dropped, still one-fourth of the population was thinking about relocating. In mid-2007, Gaither once more asked Puerto Ricans if they were still considering moving away, and results showed one-third of the population was still thinking about leaving Puerto Rico, bringing the percentage back up to June 2006 numbers.

For the third-consecutive year, during May 2008, Gaither International polled Puerto Ricans again on the same subject. One of the survey’s goals, which consisted of 1,000 face-to-face interviews, was also to find out if Puerto Ricans were still considering moving from the island. While one in every four Puerto Ricans, 25%, is still seriously considering moving, a significant majority of island residents—70%—are not considering the alternative nor would they ever move from Puerto Rico.

Survey respondents were asked how serious they were about moving from the island. For the one-fourth of Puerto Ricans still considering a move, 3% are thinking about it “now more than ever,” another 5% are thinking about making a move in the “near future” and another 18% are “seriously considering” the possibility of leaving Puerto Rico.

In 2007, as in this year’s poll, 3% were considering moving away now more than ever, a percentage that has remained about the same during the past year. In 2008, on the other hand, 5% are considering a move in the near future, significantly down from 12% last year, and 18% are seriously considering a move at some point, also about the same as last year’s 17%. “What this shows is that there is still a significant percentage of Puerto Ricans who view moving away from the island as a possibility to escape the economic crisis. However, this is now more of a long-term possibility instead of a short-term option,” noted Beatriz Castro, research analyst with Gaither International.

Nonetheless, the greatest finding in this current survey is in the percentage of Puerto Ricans who have not considered moving off the island and in those who state they will never leave Puerto Rico, according to the Gaither analyst.

“Back in 2007, Gaither found 51% of the Puerto Rican population was not considering moving away and that 17% strongly believed they would never leave Puerto Rico. The 2008 poll shows only 35% are not considering moving. Does that mean a larger percentage of Puerto Ricans are thinking about migrating to the States? Not necessarily. The current poll simply points out 35% of the Puerto Rican population states it will never move out of Puerto Rico, a large contrast with the 17% who in 2007 stated the same. These numbers represent a significant change in perception from a large percentage of the Puerto Rican population. This translates into a larger percentage of Puerto Ricans who are thinking about staying put, remaining loyal to their roots and sticking around despite the island’s difficult economic conditions,” explained Castro.

Demographics play a role in residents’ relocation views

Undeniably, the desire to move away from the island varies among subgroups. Poll results based on age demographics, as in previous polls, showed Puerto Ricans over 55 years old are less likely to want to move from the island and more likely to want to stay in Puerto Rico indefinitely.

“Given that most Puerto Ricans pertaining to older generations are retired and more established, moving from the island may be much more complicated or have other sentimental implications; it might mean leaving the family and many memories behind. Moreover, unless they have family elsewhere, they might not want to start from scratch all over again. On the other hand, younger Puerto Ricans have much more opportunities and are generally more risk-tolerant and open-minded with regard to making a career or life change,” Castro continued.

In fact, the latest poll results point out that about half of those age 55 or more would never consider moving from Puerto Rico: 26% of adults under 35 made such a statement, and 32% of those between the ages of 35 and 54 did. On the other hand, close to one-third of adults under the age of 55 are the ones considering moving compared with only 14% of those 55 or older.

Past surveys measured relocation attitudes based on gender, socioeconomic level and place of residence. In contrast, the 2007 poll only showed statistically significant differences based on education level. The 2008 poll, on the other hand, shows significant differences by socioeconomic level, employment status and education level.

For example, Gaither found unemployed Puerto Ricans are significantly more likely than those in the workforce to say they would never leave Puerto Rico, a 10% difference between these subgroups.

“Findings also pointed out that respondents with a low educational background are significantly more likely to never leave the island. This might very well be that those from higher-education backgrounds are more likely to consider leaving the island as they may feel there are better employment opportunities on the mainland. In contrast to the 2007 poll, which pointed out only 21% of less-educated respondents said they would never leave Puerto Rico, this poll argues that 39% of low-income Puerto Ricans, as of today, will never move from Puerto Rico, a considerable increase,” added Castro.

The current poll’s findings also state that it is those from higher-socioeconomic levels who are the least likely to consider a move. The survey also pointed out that Puerto Ricans from higher-socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely than their counterparts to be considering moving from the island. But, at the same time, it is those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds who are the most likely to state they will never leave Puerto Rico. “Those with higher-income levels are not considering moving out as of now because their economic situation is not critical,” said Castro. “And those from lower-income backgrounds say they will never leave because they are patriotic or simply do not have the means to ever move, and may have an even harder time establishing themselves somewhere else,” concluded the Gaither analyst.