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U.S. Virgin Islands

Situated just east of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands are a U.S. territory that includes the islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. Its population fell by a striking 18 percent over the last decade to 87,000 in 2021—the lowest level since the 1970s. Its economy has been weakened by a series of blows—the closure in 2012 of the Hovensa oil refinery, a major employer; Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, which caused extensive damage and disruptions; and the pandemic in 2020, which devastated its key tourism industry, which is highly dependent on cruise ship visits.

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	Population 2020	Pop growth 2020, 10-year change (%)	GDP 2020, billions ($)	Job growth 2021, 5-year change (%)	Median household income 2020 ($)	Median home price 2020 ($)	Pop share age 25+ with BA+ 2020 (%)
U.S. Virgin Islands	87,000	-18.1	4	-8.8	40,408	290,558	22.3
Puerto Rico*	3,286,000	-11.8	103	-2.0	20,230	100,000	27.2
United States	331,449,000	7.4	20,894	1.2	67,000	250,000	35.1

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; IPUMS USA-University of Minnesota. Data retrieved through data.census.gov, Moody's Economy.com, or directly from source.

*Neighboring Metros

The New York Fed publishes indicators, trends, research and analysis on our Second District. Explore the content below to learn more.

Andy Haughwout’s Briefing on U.S. and Regional Economic Conditions

April 18, 2024

In a presentation at the 2024 New York Fed Regional and Community Banking Conference, Andy discussed economic conditions, including employment, inflation, business activity, housing, and commercial real estate.

Beige Book: Economic Activity in the Second District Held Steady

April 17, 2024

Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank directors and interviews with businesses, community organizations, economists, market experts, and other sources.

Regional Employment Trends

April 12, 2024

These interactive charts illustrate payroll employment trends for more than 20 geographies in the Second District, from the state level down to metropolitan areas.

Small Business Recovery after Natural Disasters

Banks versus Hurricanes

November 20, 2023

Puerto Rico’s location in the Caribbean leaves it highly exposed to all manner of severe weather. Hurricane Maria, which struck the island on September 17, 2017, was a worst case in some respects as it struck just two weeks after Hurricane Irma flooded the island. Even so, the island’s economy and banks recovered surprisingly quickly. This post discusses the various protections—including homeowners’ insurance, federal aid, and mortgage guarantees—that helped buttress the island’s economy and banks.

Flood-Prone Basement Housing in New York City and the Impact to Low-and-Moderate Income Renters

November 17, 2023

Hurricane Ida, which struck New York in early September 2021, exposed the region’s vulnerability to extreme rainfall and inland flooding. The storm inflicted extensive damage to the housing stock, particularly low-lying units. This post introduces new data to estimate with greater precision the flood risk to basement apartments in New York City. The authors show that these risks potentially impact roughly 10 percent of low- and moderate-income individuals, immigrants, and racial and ethnic minorities.

Small Business Recovery after Natural Disasters in the Fed’s Second District

November 16, 2023

This is the second of the two-part series on how natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, and winter storms affect small businesses in the Federal Reserve’s Second District. While the previous post focused on the impact of such disasters using data from the Small Business Credit Survey for the period 2021-22, this post focuses on the aftermath of such disasters, and examines disparities in the ability of firms to reopen their businesses and access disaster relief.

How Do Natural Disasters Affect Small Business Owners in the Fed’s Second District?

November 15, 2023

Data from the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey shed light on how small businesses in the Second District are impacted by natural disasters (such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, and winter storms). The author finds that increasing shares of small business firms in the region sustain losses from natural disasters, with minority-owned firms suffering losses at a disproportionately higher rate than white-owned firms.

Inaccurate flood zones in the Fed’s Second District

Flood Risk and Firm Location Decisions in the Fed’s Second District

November 14, 2023

The intensity, duration, and frequency of flooding have increased over the past few decades. As the frequency of flood events continues to increase, the number of people, buildings, and agriculture exposed to flood risk is only likely to grow. This post focuses on the distribution of flood risk within the Federal Reserve's Second District and examines its effect on establishment location decisions over the last two decades.

How Do Banks Lend in Inaccurate Flood Zones in the Fed’s Second District?

November 13, 2023

This post examines the impact of flood risk, particularly on bank lending in the Federal Reserve’s Second District. Using data on the accuracy of flood maps, the authors examine banks’ lending practices within “very inaccurate” and “inaccurately” mapped areas. A map is considered “very inaccurate” If a property faces significant flooding damage (highest damage quartile) but is not mapped into a flood zone, and “inaccurate” If properties in an area face moderate damage but are insufficiently mapped.

Potential Flood Map Inaccuracies in the Fed’s Second District

November 10, 2023

The National Flood Insurance Program flood maps, which designate flood-prone areas, are updated periodically through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and community efforts. Even so, many of these maps are outdated. Given that climate-related risks vary geographically, it is crucial to produce accurate maps for such risks, like flooding. This post uses detailed data on the flood risk faced by individual dwellings as well as digitized FEMA flood maps to assess the accuracy of flood mapping in the Federal Reserve’s Second District.

Transition Risks in the Fed’s Second District and the Nation

November 09, 2023

Climate change may pose two types of risk to the economy—from policies and consumer preferences as the energy system transitions to a lower dependence on carbon (transition risks) or from damages stemming from the direct impacts of climate change (physical risks). This post complements a previous blog in the series that studies the Second District’s exposure to physical risk by considering how transition risks affect different parts of the District, and how they differentially affect the area relative to the nation.

Comparing Physical Risk: The Fed’s Second District versus the Nation

November 08, 2023

There are several types of risks that may interest policymakers and academics who are focused on understanding a region’s exposure to physical risks. There are also a great many ways of quantifying and aggregating these risks. This post discusses the climate-related risks faced by the Federal Reserve’s Second District and compare these with risks faced by the nation as a whole. The comparison helps contextualize the risks while framing them in the broader context of a changing climate at the national level.

Blog Series on the Economic and Financial Impacts of Extreme Weather Events in the Fed’s Second District

November 08, 2023

Extreme weather events, along with human adaption to cope with them, may have large effects on the economy and financial markets. Therefore, it is crucial to provide research on the economy’s vulnerability to such events to policymakers, households, financial institutions, and other players in the world economy in order to help them make informed decisions.

Slow Road to Recovery: U.S.V.I. Sees Signs of Resilience

June 20, 2023

A summary of key themes that emerged during President John C. Williams regional visit to the U.S. Virgin Island for two days of meetings on St. Croix and St. Thomas.

Press Briefing: The Region’s Recovery from the Pandemic Recession

April 13, 2023

The press briefing discussed economic conditions across the Second District since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on employment trends.

Press Briefing: Employment and Housing Conditions in the Second District

November 10, 2022

The press briefing focused on current economic conditions across the Federal Reserve's Second District and focused on the region's housing markets through the pandemic, including changes in home prices and affordability.

Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Hub

January 01, 2018

A collection of reports and information about Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

2014 Update on the Competitiveness of the Puerto Rico Economy

July 31, 2014

The New York Fed has undertaken this update of a 2012 report examining the competitiveness of the Island's economy.

2012 Report on the Competitiveness of the Puerto Rico Economy

June 29, 2012

The report analyzes local economic conditions, discusses challenges, and presents recommendations.

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