Ponce is the second largest city in Puerto Rico outside of the San Juan metropolitan area.^[1] It is in the southern part of the island. As of 2020, 137,491 people live there. It is also called La Perla del Sur (The Pearl of the South) and La Ciudad Señorial de Puerto Rico (Majestic city of Puerto Rico).

The city of Ponce was founded in 1692 by Spanish people who lived near the Jacaguas river. The city was named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León.

Ponce Municipio Autónomo De Ponce
Municipality
Autonomous Municipality Of Ponce
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  “La Ciudad Señorial”
Founded by	Juan Ponce De Leon y Loayza
Government
• Body	Gobierno De Puerto Rico
• Mayor	Hon. Luis M. Irizarry Pabón (Partido Popular Democrático (PPD))
Highest elevation	1,338 m (4,390 ft)
Population
• Total	137,491

• Ponce and its barrios, United States Census Bureau Archived 2020-02-12 at Archive.today
• Places of Interest in Ponce, Puerto Rico (Spanish) Archived 2006-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
• Ponce Official Site Archived 2021-03-20 at the Wayback Machine

18°00′N 66°37′W / 18.000°N 66.617°W / 18.000; -66.617