What is the capital of Puerto Rico?

The capital of Puerto Rico is San Juan.

San Juan is both Puerto Rico's capital and its most populous municipality. Located on the island's northern coast, it is the territory's principal center for government, finance, culture, tourism, and shipping. Its busy port handles cruise ships and commercial traffic in the Caribbean.

Spanish colonists founded the city in 1521, after an earlier settlement at Caparra. The name San Juan means “Saint John” in Spanish, while Puerto Rico means “rich port.” Early naming reversals are the reason historical accounts can seem confusing: the island was originally called San Juan Bautista, and the settlement was called Puerto Rico before the names gradually switched places.

Old San Juan preserves colorful Spanish colonial buildings, defensive walls, and forts including Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal. La Fortaleza, the governor's official residence, is among the oldest continuously used executive mansions in the Americas. Old San Juan's historic sites became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Santo Domingo is an important comparison: it is older as a European-established American capital, but it is not Puerto Rico's capital.