Hurricane Maria and the
botched federal response have caused many Puerto Ricans to move to the US mainland.
Brian Glassman at the Census Bureau:
The number of people living in Puerto Rico decreased by 142,000 (4.4%) from 3,337,000 in 2017 to 3,195,000 in 2018.
The number of movers from the territory to the mainland United States increased by more than a third in 2018. About 133,500 people moved, up 36.9% from 97,500 movers the year before.
More than half moved to the South and more than a quarter moved to the Northeast. Their destinations across the United States shifted from 2017 with higher growth rates in the West and South than in the Northeast or Midwest.
Puerto Ricans are overwhelmingly Democratic, so the movement could shift electoral politics in several states, especially Florida.
