Today, Orlando is the fourth-largest metropolitan area for Puerto Ricans, and Puerto Ricans live in every State with the largest populations in New York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Despite the loss of 100,000 Puerto Ricans between 1990 and 2000, New York City continues as a major center for migration from Puerto Rico and within the U.S., and remains home to the largest Puerto Rican population in the country.

The dispersal of Puerto Ricans across the U.S. represents both upward mobility of the middle-class and professionals as well as the movement of poor and low-wage workers in search of jobs. The Diaspora impacts Puerto Rican culture, politics and institutions.