Founded in 1973 by a coalition of students, faculty, and activists, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) is the largest university-based research institute, library, and archive dedicated to the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. We provide support to students, scholars, artists, and members of the community at large across and beyond New York. We produce original research, films, books, and educational tools and are the home of The Centro Journal—the premiere academic journal of Puerto Rican Studies. Our aim is to create actionable and accessible scholarship to strengthen, broaden, and reimagine the field of Puerto Rican studies.
Centro’s Library and Archives sustains all our work, it is the most comprehensive repository of our histories, accomplishments, challenges, and culture available anywhere and an embodiment of the collective memory of the Puerto Rican diasporic experience. True to Centro’s commitment, we work hard to make it accessible to researchers, academics, teachers, students, genealogists, filmmakers, and the community at large.
Today Centro has become a bedrock encouraging and sustaining the ongoing dialogue between Puerto Rican Communities, scholars, allies, and elected officials. We continue to work closely with a network of education, research, archival, advocacy and community-based partners and continue to aggressively produce and disseminate relevant interdisciplinary research. True to the social struggles that created the conditions for CENTRO we seek to link scholarship to social action and policy debates and to contribute to the betterment of our community and enrichment of Puerto Rican Studies.
Works from 2025
Testimony before the Puerto Rico Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights on the role that race and ethnicity play in the treatment of the people of Puerto Rico by the federal government, Yomaira Figueroa and Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Works from 2024
Hispanics in New York 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics in New York City 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics in the United States 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in California 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Chicago 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Connecticut 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Florida 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Georgia 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Illinois 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Maryland 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Massachusetts 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New Jersey 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New York City 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in North Carolina 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Ohio 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Texas 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in the United States 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Virginia 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Wisconsin 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Nuestras Cifras — Our Numbers: Sociodemographic Profiles of New York State Hispanic Legislative Districts, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Verónica Díaz-Torres, Jorge Soldevilla-Irizarry, and Damayra Figueroa-Lazu
¿No pagan taxes? Overview of Federal Revenue-Raising in Puerto Rico, 2024, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Javier Mendez Lacomba, and Jorge Soldevilla-Irizarry
Works from 2023
Hispanics in New York 2022, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics in New York City 2022, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics in the United States 2022, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics/Latinos in New York 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics/Latinos in New York City 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hispanics/Latinos in the United States 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in California 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Connecticut 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Florida 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Georgia 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Illinois 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Massachusetts 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New Jersey 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New York 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New York 2022, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New York 2023, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New York City 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New York City 2022, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in North Carolina 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Ohio 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Texas 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in the United States 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in the United States 2022, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Virginia 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Wisconsin 2021, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
The Puerto Rico Children Vulnerability Index, 2021, Jennifer Hinojosa, Laura Colon-Melendez, Jorge Soldevilla-Irizarry, and Damayra I. Figueroa-Lazu
Hispanic Empowerment in New York's Municipal Workforces, 2021, Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Pervasive Poverty in Puerto Rico: A Closer Look, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Laura Colon-Melendez, Jorge Soldevilla-Irizarry, Damayra Figueroa-Lazu, Jennifer Hinojosa, and Yarimar Bonilla
Works from 2022
Puerto Rico's 2020 Race/Ethnicity Decennial Analysis, Damayra Figueroa-Lazu, Hinojosa Jennifer, and Bonilla Yarimar
Redistricting NYC: Demographic Change and the Hispanic Community, Carlos Vargas-Ramos and Jorge Soldevilla-Irizarry
Works from 2021
Four Year Anniversary of Hurricane Maria Series, Damayra Figueroa-Lazu and Jennifer Hinojosa
Redistricting 2020: Population Change and Hispanic Congressional Representation in Connecticut, Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Redistricting 2020: The Prospects of Increasing Hispanic Legislative Representation in Florida, Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Redistricting 2020: The Prospects of Increasing Hispanic Legislative Representation in Florida, Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Redistricting Threats to New York’s Hispanic Congressional Representation, Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Works from 2020
Enduring Disasters: Puerto Rico, Three Years After Hurricane María, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Ohio: 2010-2018, Damayra I. Figueroa
COVID-19 Impact on Puerto Rico’s Small Businesses Week 1: Data Collection between April 26 to May 2, Jennifer Hinojosa
Puerto Rican Citizen Voting-Age Population in 2019, Carlos Vargas-Ramos
Works from 2019
New Estimates of Puerto Rican Migration Post Hurricane Maria in 2018: Florida Continues to Grow as the State with the Largest Puerto Rican Population, Center for Puerto RIcan Studies
Puerto Ricans in Florida: 2010-2017, Damayra I. Figueroa
Population Decline And School Closure in Puerto Rico, Jennifer Hinojosa, Edwin Melendez, and Kathya Severino Pietri
Anticipated Vulnerabilities: Displacement and Migration in the Age of Climate Change, Carlos Vargas-Ramos and Charles R. Venator-Santiago
Works from 2018
New Estimates: 135,000+ Post-Maria Puerto Ricans Relocated to Stateside, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans keep on growing! The Puerto Rican Population in the United States Grew at a Rapid Pace between 2016-2017, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Rico: One Year After Hurricane Maria, Center for Puerto RIcan Studies
Puerto Rico: Two Years After Hurricane Maria, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Rebuild Puerto Rico: A Guide to Federal Policy and Advocacy, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Rican Exodus: One Year Since Hurricane Maria, Jennifer Hinojosa
The Housing Crisis in Puerto Rico and the Impact of Hurricane Maria, Jennifer Hinojosa and Edwin Melendez
Puerto Rican Citizen, Voting-Age Population in 2017, Nashia Roman
Puerto Ricans in Connecticut: 2010-2016, Nashia Roman
Puerto Ricans in Florida: 2010-2016, Nashia Roman
Puerto Ricans in New York: 2010-2016, Nashia Roman
Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania: 2010-2016, Nashia Roman
Puerto Ricans in the United States: 2010–2016, Nashia Roman
STORM SURGE: Report on the Findings from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Survey on Impact of Post- Maria Displacement of Puerto Ricans and U.S. Virgin Islanders on Households in the Greater Hartford Region, February, Carlos Vargas-Ramos and Charles R. Venator-Santiago
Works from 2017
Puerto Ricans Continue to Grow in 2016, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
PUERTO RICANS IN FLORIDA, 2015, Center for Puerto RIcan Studies
Health Insurance Coverage among Puerto Ricans in the U.S., 2010 – 2015, Jennifer Hinojosa
Puerto Rican Entrepreneurship in the U.S., Jennifer Hinojosa
Puerto Rican Housing Characteristics, Jennifer Hinojosa
School, Work and the Transition of Puerto Rican Youth to Adulthood, Edwin Melendez
Estimates of Post-Hurricane Maria Exodus from Puerto Rico, Edwin Melendez and Jennifer Hinojosa
Post-Hurricane Maria Exodus from Puerto Rico and School Enrollment in Florida, Edwin Melendez, Jennifer Hinojosa, and Nashia Roman
The Puerto Rican Education Pipeline: New York City, New York State, and the United States, Luis O. Reyes
Works from 2016
Puerto Rican Population Grows 2% in 2015, Center for Puerto RIcan Studies
Puerto Ricans in California, the United States, and Puerto Rico, 2014, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Georgia, the United States, and Puerto Rico, 2014, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in New Jersey, the United States, and Puerto Rico, 2014, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in North Carolina, the United States, and Puerto Rico, 2014, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Ricans in Virginia, the United States, and Puerto Rico, 2014, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
The Puerto Rican Citizen, Voting-Age Population, Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Rican Households in the U.S., Eric Franqui-Rivera
Military Service: Migration and a Path to Middle Class Status, Harry Franqui-Rivera
