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Ham Recruiter FCC ULS

Ham radio operators in Puerto Rico: new licenses by municipio

5,366 licensed amateur radio operators; 223 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
34
New hams · last 12 months
223
▲ 24% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
5,366
Upgrades · 12 mo
50
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
45
Address updates · 12 mo
89
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
181

About ham radio in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico added 223 new amateur radio operators in the past 12 months, up 24% from the year before. Puerto Rico ranks tied for #31 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. San Juan Municipio leads the state with 9 new hams. Technicians make up 56% of the state’s licensees, above the U.S. average of 48%, a strong pipeline of new operators who may be ready for an Elmer program. 50 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Puerto Rico, October 2025 to September 2026 223 in total. Highest: 36 in April 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Up 24% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 0 new hams 0 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 34 new hams 34 Nov Dec 2025: 7 new hams 7 Dec Jan 2026: 7 new hams 7 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 3 new hams 3 Feb Mar 2026: 10 new hams 10 Mar Apr 2026: 36 new hams 36 Apr May 2026: 27 new hams 27 May Jun 2026: 25 new hams 25 Jun Jul 2026: 22 new hams 22 Jul Aug 2026: 18 new hams 18 Aug Sep 2026: 34 new hams 34 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Puerto Rico
MonthNew hams
Oct 20250
Nov 202534
Dec 20257
Jan 20267
Feb 20263
Mar 202610
Apr 202636
May 202627
Jun 202625
Jul 202622
Aug 202618
Sep 202634
Total223

License classes

Active licensees in Puerto Rico by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 3,01256%48%
General 1,21923%25%
Amateur Extra 80015%21%
Advanced 1353%3%
Novice / Other 2004%2%

Bar = Puerto Rico share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 20 operators upgraded to General and 23 to Amateur Extra.

How Puerto Rico compares

Tied for #31 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsPuerto RicoU.S.
New hams, past 12 months41.632.3
Upgrades, past 12 months9.314.7
Expiring, next 6 months33.757.3

223 new hams in Puerto Rico this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 7 Puerto Rico municipios for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#MunicipioNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1San Juan Municipio9—30929.1
2Carolina Municipio7—14747.6
3Ciales Municipio4—5967.8
4Manatí Municipio4—33121.2
5Ponce Municipio3—19815.2
6Aguadilla Municipio2▼ 83%2248.9
7Toa Baja Municipio1—7014.3

— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.

All Puerto Rico municipios

7 municipios with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Puerto Rico municipios

These 71 municipios have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 71 smaller municipios
MunicipioActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Adjuntas Municipio650
Aguada Municipio662
Aguas Buenas Municipio222
Aibonito Municipio160
Añasco Municipio10
Arecibo Municipio2192
Arroyo Municipio210
Barceloneta Municipio570
Barranquitas Municipio150
Bayamón Municipio493
Cabo Rojo Municipio854
Caguas Municipio990
Camuy Municipio591
Canóvanas Municipio60
Cataño Municipio61
Cayey Municipio310
Ceiba Municipio280
Cidra Municipio200
Coamo Municipio300
Comerío Municipio10
Corozal Municipio260
Culebra Municipio50
Dorado Municipio481
Fajardo Municipio750
Florida Municipio500
Guánica Municipio72
Guayama Municipio290
Guayanilla Municipio390
Guaynabo Municipio791
Gurabo Municipio411
Hatillo Municipio870
Hormigueros Municipio473
Humacao Municipio492
Isabela Municipio1484
Jayuya Municipio330
Juana Díaz Municipio110
Juncos Municipio480
Lajas Municipio622
Lares Municipio780
Las Marías Municipio00
Las Piedras Municipio410
Loíza Municipio40
Luquillo Municipio290
Maricao Municipio150
Maunabo Municipio160
Mayagüez Municipio552
Moca Municipio1640
Morovis Municipio311
Naguabo Municipio410
Naranjito Municipio161
Orocovis Municipio140
Patillas Municipio170
Peñuelas Municipio20
Quebradillas Municipio632
Rincón Municipio30
Río Grande Municipio90
Sabana Grande Municipio720
Salinas Municipio331
San Germán Municipio272
San Lorenzo Municipio370
San Sebastián Municipio100
Santa Isabel Municipio220
Toa Alta Municipio722
Trujillo Alto Municipio560
Utuado Municipio1401
Vega Alta Municipio231
Vega Baja Municipio710
Vieques Municipio332
Villalba Municipio40
Yabucoa Municipio451
Yauco Municipio591

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Puerto Rico

How many ham radio operators are in Puerto Rico?

5,366 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Puerto Rico as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Puerto Rico last year?

223 people in Puerto Rico received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Puerto Rico municipios have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: San Juan Municipio (9), Carolina Municipio (7) and Ciales Municipio (4).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

77% of Puerto Rico licensees could be matched to a municipio.