Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce

*Municipio Autónomo de Ponce*
Ponce Municipio Autónomo de Ponce
City and municipality
	Autonomous Municipality of Ponce
	Ponce skyline with the Cordillera Central Castillo Serrallés Teatro La Perla Ponce Cathedral Plaza del Mercado Parque de Bombas Museo de Arte de Ponce 25 de Enero Street La Guancha Hacienda Buena Vista
	Flag Coat of arms
	Nicknames: "La Perla del Sur", ; "Ciudad Señorial", ; "Ciudad de los Leones", ; "Ciudad de las Quenepas"
	Motto: Ponce es Ponce
	Anthem: "La Perla del Sur"
	Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Ponce Municipality
	Coordinates: 18°0′39.132″N 66°36′50.1474″W / 18.01087000°N 66.613929833°W
Sovereign state	United States
Commonwealth	Puerto Rico
Settled	c.1500 BC (Non-Europeans)
Re-settled	1582 (Europeans)
Sitio	1646 (Dispersed settlement)
Partido	1670 (Hamlet)
Founded	August 12, 1692 (Village)
† Villa	July 29, 1848
† Ciudad	August 13, 1877
Named after	Juan Ponce de Leon y Loayza
Barrios	31 barrios Anón; Bucaná; Canas; Canas Urbano; Capitanejo; Cerrillos; Coto Laurel; Cuarto; Guaraguao; Machuelo Abajo; Machuelo Arriba; Magueyes; Magueyes Urbano; Maragüez; Marueño; Montes Llanos; Playa; Portugués Rural; Portugués Urbano; Primero; Quebrada Limón; Quinto; Real; Sabanetas; San Antón; San Patricio; Segundo; Sexto; Tercero; Tibes; Vayas;
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Mayor	Marlese Sifre (PPD)
• Council	Asamblea Municipal de Ponce
Area
• City and municipality	193.6 sq mi (501 km2)
• Land	114.8 sq mi (297 km2)
• Water	78.8 sq mi (204 km2)
Elevation	52 ft (16 m)
Population (2020)
• City and municipality	137,491
• Rank	4th in Puerto Rico
• Density	710/sq mi (270/km2)
• Metro	224,142 (MSA)
• CSA	365,233
Demonym	Ponceños
Time zone	UTC−4 (AST)
ZIP Codes	00715, 00716, 00717, 00728, 00730, 00731, 00732, 00733, 00734, 00780
Area code	787/939
Major routes	; ;
GNIS feature ID	1611718
Website	http://visitponce.com/
	† = Date of the Villa and Ciudad charters

Ponce (US: /ˈpɔːnseɪ, ˈpoʊn-/ PAWN-say, POHN-, UK: /ˈpɒn-/ PON-, Spanish: [ˈponse] ^ⓘ) is a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692 and is named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur (The Pearl of the South), La Ciudad Señorial (The Manorial City), and La Ciudad de las Quenepas (Genip City).

The city serves as the governmental seat of the autonomous municipality as well as the regional hub for various government of Puerto Rico entities, such as the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. It is also the regional center for various U.S. federal government agencies. Ponce is a principal city of both the Ponce Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Ponce-Yauco-Coamo Combined Statistical Area with, as of the 2020 US Census, a population of 278,477 and 333,426 respectively.

The municipality of Ponce, officially the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, is located in the southern coastal plain region of the island, south of Adjuntas, Utuado, and Jayuya; east of Peñuelas; west of Juana Díaz; and bordered on the south by the Caribbean Sea. The municipality has 31 barrios, including 19 outside the city's urban area and 12 in the urban area of the city. It is the second largest in Puerto Rico by land area, and it was the first in Puerto Rico to obtain its autonomy, becoming the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce in 1992.

The historic Ponce Pueblo district, located in the downtown area of the city, is composed by several of the downtown barrios, and is located approximately three miles (4.8 km) inland from the Caribbean coast. The historic district is characterized for its Rococo architecture, Neoclásico Isabelino, and Ponce Creole architectures.