Commune · 04101

La SerenaLa Serena

Compare La Serena with another place
Census population
250,141
14th of 346
Population density
131.6/km²
80th of 346
Average years of schooling
10.9 yrs
26th of 346
Foreign-born share
6.2%
80th of 346

Where it stands out

Indicators with the most extreme rank among territories at its level.
People within 30 km of any health facility1st of 345 · Chile 100.0%100.0%
People within 15 km of a school in operation1st of 345 · Chile 99.9%100.0%
People within 30 km of a school in operation1st of 345 · Chile 100.0%100.0%
Households with a computer23rd of 345 · Chile 54.9%61.9%
Average years of schooling, women26th of 346 · Chile 12.1 yrs12.8 yrs
Average years of schooling, men27th of 346 · Chile 12.1 yrs12.9 yrs
Loading
Population density by commune
Trend 2005–2024

Average monthly pay

01020304020052015202432.0 UF29.2 UF
01020304020052015202432.0 UF29.2 UF
In UF, Chile's inflation-indexed unit, so the twenty years are comparable without deflating. Grey is the country.

Where the people here are from

Casen 2024 · 2,930 surveyed
Lives in the commune where they were born
56.4%
209th of 335
Came from another commune of the same region
10.2%
278th of 335
Came from another region
28.1%
30th of 335
Net internal migration
+43,069
+16.0 per 100 residents
La Serenathis commune · 211,309another region75,464 peopleelsewhere in the region27,471 peopleabroad14,350 peopleanother region36,066 peopleelsewhere in the region23,800 peopleLa Serenathis commune · 268,728
La Serenathis commune · 211,309another region75,464 peopleelsewhere in th…27,471 peopleabroad14,350 peopleanother region36,066 peopleelsewhere in th…23,800 peopleLa Serenathis commune · 268,728

Formal employment, 2005–2024

2005–2024 · Source SII
200520241Construction1Construction11Health2Health▲96Administrative services3Administrative services▲35Education4Education▲12Retail and wholesale5Retail and wholesale▼310Accommodation and food6Accommodation and food▲48Mining7Mining▲17Manufacturing8Manufacturing▼19Professional services9Professional services12Transport10Transport▲23Agriculture and fishing11Agriculture and fishing▼818Public administration12Public administration▲64Other services13Other services▼9
2005202411Construction112Health▲963Administrative services▲354Education▲125Retail and wholesale▼3106Accommodation and food▲487Mining▲178Manufacturing▼199Professional services1210Transport▲2311Agriculture and fishing▼81812Public administration▲6413Other services▼9

The ten branches that employ most of La Serena

Ranked by headcount in the latest year; the line is each branch's own twenty-year shape, on its own scale.

Dependent workers, projected

Prophet, fitted on the twenty observed years. A projection is not a figure of PuroChile.

20 k45 k70 k95 k120 kprojection →97 k2029 · central2005201520242029
20 k45 k70 k95 k120 kprojection →97 k2029 · central2005201520242029
observed 2005–2024central projection80% interval3.5% a year observed · 3.0% projected

Annual sales in UF, projected

UF is indexed to inflation, so this is a projection in real terms.

050 M100 M150 M200 Mprojection →164 M2029 · central2005201520242029
050 M100 M150 M200 Mprojection →164 M2029 · central2005201520242029
observed 2005–2024central projection80% interval6.4% a year observed · 4.1% projected

What La Serena is specialised in

2024 · SII

Of the 672 activities the tax register files firms under, La Serena employs more people in 126 of them than Chile does, proportionally. That comparison is Balassa's revealed comparative advantage: this place's share of an activity, over the country's share of it. Above one, the activity is over-represented here.

126
activities it is specialised in
83,064
formal workers
64/296
by the complexity of what it is specialised in
0%20%40%60%69%-2.5-0.53.7Actividades de restaurantes y de …Servicios de seguridad privada pr…Enseñanza superior en universidad…Actividades de hotelesEmpresas de asesoría y consultorí…Fabricación de explosivos y produ…Cultivo de hortalizas y melonesActividades de organizaciones y ó…Peluquería y otros tratamientos d…How much of what surrounds the activity is already hereComplexity of the activity
0%20%40%60%69%-2.5-0.53.7Construcción de edificios para us…Actividades de hotelesCultivo de papasCría de aves de corral para la pr…How much of what surrounds the activity is already hereComplexity of the activity

Most over-represented in La Serena

Ranked by how many times the national share this place reaches. The division each activity belongs to is a page of its own.

ActivityDivisionWorkers hereTimes the national share
Extracción de minerales de hierroExtracción de minerales de hierro2,10786.2×
Elaboración de pisco (industrias pisqueras)Elaboración de bebidas alcohólicas y no alcohólicas51155.4×
Cultivo de papasCultivo de plantas no perennes65344.2×
Actividades de organizaciones y órganos extraterritorialesActividades de organizaciones y órganos extraterritoriales11115.9×
Actividades de centros de salud municipalizados (servicios de salud pública)Actividades de médicos y odontólogos4,92313.7×
Actividades de discotecas y cabaret (night club), con predominio del servicio de bebidasActividades de servicio de bebidas33312.4×
Investigaciones y desarrollo experimental en el campo de las ciencias naturales y la ingeniería y la ingenieríaInvestigaciones y desarrollo experimental en el campo de las ciencias naturales y la ingeniería3549.6×
Venta de partes, piezas y accesorios de motocicletasVenta, mantenimiento y reparación de motocicletas y sus partes, piezas y accesorios437.7×
Explotación de terminales terrestres de pasajerosActividades de apoyo al transporte997.7×
Otras actividades de alojamiento para turistas n.c.p.Actividades de alojamiento para estancias cortas676.9×
Producción de aguas minerales y otras aguas embotelladasElaboración de bebidas alcohólicas y no alcohólicas1266.9×
Actividades de apoyo a la enseñanzaActividades de apoyo a la enseñanza1736.8×

The register files a firm at its tax address, so an activity can be over-represented here because the work happens here or because the head office does. Both are real facts about a place and they are not the same fact, and nothing in the register tells them apart: the communes where large firms keep their registered office carry activities that are physically elsewhere in Chile.

Revealed comparative advantage (Balassa, 1965) and the space of activities (Hidalgo, Klinger, Barabási and Hausmann, 2007), computed on formal employment because that is what a Chilean commune has. Built from the 500-worker activities and the communes above 1,000 formal workers; the floors are on /datos with everything else.

The land and who works it

Agricultural census · INE · 2020/2021
154,447
hectares in holdings
10.8%
of them under a named use
98.7%
of the crop land is irrigated
587
holdings with land here
Not farmed 91%Scrub, barren ground and buildings89%Pasture6.6%Veget…1.0%Fru…tre…For…Nat…
Not farmed 91%Scrub, barren ground and buildings89%PastureVege…
Pasturehover a tile for its count; click a group to open itFive families of land use, grouped by PuroChile from the fourteen categories the census publishes. The fifteenth tile is not a category: it is the censused surface less the fourteen.

Population and territory

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Population pyramid

MenWomen001122334455%0 to 45 to 910 to 1415 to 1920 to 2425 to 2930 to 3435 to 3940 to 4445 to 4950 to 5455 to 5960 to 6465 to 6970 to 7475 to 7980 to 8485 and over
MenWomen00224466%0 to 45 to 910 to 1415 to 1920 to 2425 to 2930 to 3435 to 3940 to 4445 to 4950 to 5455 to 5960 to 6465 to 6970 to 7475 to 7980 to 8485 and over
La SerenaChile% of each territory's own population · 250,141 people counted herehover a cohort for its countsCenso de Población y Vivienda 2024, INE (cuadro D1)
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Census population
250,141
562,45718,480,43214th of 346
Average age
37.2 yrs
37.3 yrs38.1 yrs283rd of 346
Ageing index · People aged 65 or over per 100 under 15.
72.8
71.879.0261st of 345
Population density · Inhabitants per square kilometre, over the area of the census cartography.
131.6/km²
32.9/km²24.7/km²80th of 346
See the other 13 indicators
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Households
86,442
193,7356,596,52716th of 346
Dwellings
109,497
245,8757,642,71613th of 346
People per household
2.89
2.902.8074th of 345
Women
51.9%
51.6%51.5%52nd of 346
Men per 100 women
92.8
94.094.3295th of 346
Under 15
18.2%
18.7%17.7%143rd of 346
65 and over
13.2%
13.4%14.0%278th of 346
Dependency ratio · Population outside working age per 100 of working age.
45.7
47.346.5294th of 346
One-person households
20.0%
20.1%21.8%244th of 345
Households with children
34.8%
35.8%33.2%110th of 345
Indigenous peoples
10.5%
10.1%11.4%152nd of 346
Female-headed households
49.6%
48.9%49.9%124th of 345
Land area
1,901 km²
17,098 km²748,041 km²76th of 346

Migration

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When the migrant population arrived

La Serena37%Arrived since 202063%Arrived before 2020Chile34%Arrived since 202066%Arrived before 2020
La Serena37%Arrived since 202063%Arrived before 2020Chile34%Arrived since 202066%Arrived before 2020
Arrived since 2020Arrived before 2020% of the foreign-born population
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Foreign-born share
6.2%
6.1%8.7%80th of 346
Lives in the commune where they were born · Casen 2024 asks in which comuna each person's mother lived when they were born. It is lifetime migration, not last year's, and it measures origin, not moves: someone born here who left and came back counts as living where they were born.
56.4%
56.7%50.5%209th of 335
Came from another commune of the same region · Of those who live here, the ones born in another comuna of this same region. It is the short move: within the metropolitan area, the valley or the neighbouring province.
10.2%
12.7%23.9%278th of 335
Came from another region · Of those who live here, the ones born in a comuna of another region.
28.1%
25.7%17.2%30th of 335
See the other 9 indicators
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Foreign-born population
15,544
34,1211,608,65033rd of 346
Average age, foreign-born
33.1 yrs
32.3 yrs33.5 yrs189th of 345
Women among foreign-born
52.5%
51.8%51.7%116th of 345
Foreign-born of working age
81.9%
81.5%83.1%138th of 345
Arrived since 2020 · Share of the migrant population that arrived in the country in 2020 or later.
37.4%
41.2%34.4%177th of 345
Foreign-born share of working-age population · Foreign-born people aged 15 to 64, over everyone aged 15 to 64 in the comuna.
7.4%
7.3%10.6%80th of 346
Average schooling, foreign-born
13.3 yrs
12.8 yrs12.9 yrs56th of 345
Net internal migration · People who arrived from another comuna minus people born here who live in another comuna. It is a lifetime balance, not a year's. Chile adds to zero by construction: nobody leaves the country in this count.
43,069
105,698018th of 335
Net internal migration per 100 residents · The balance above, over the population living in the territory.
16.0
17.70.081st of 335

Education

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How far schooling went

La Serena36%Higher36%Secondary20%Primary only5.0%Chile31%Higher37%Secondary24%Primary only5.0%
La Serena36%Higher36%Secondary20%Chile31%Higher37%Secondary24%Primary only
HigherSecondaryPrimary onlyNever attendedOther or unclassified% of people aged 25 and over
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Average years of schooling
10.9 yrs
10.5 yrs10.4 yrs26th of 346
Reached higher education
36.3%
31.8%31.1%31st of 346
School attendance, ages 6-17
98.1%
98.7%98.6%254th of 333
Continues to higher education · Of young secondary-school graduates, those enrolled in first-year undergraduate studies the following March. By the comuna of the school where they finished secondary school, which is the approximation to origin that Mineduc publishes.
58.1%
58.5%55.6%112th of 331
See the other 17 indicators
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Women's schooling as share of men's · 100 means parity; below 100, women in the territory completed fewer years than men. The census does not publish educational attainment split by sex at comuna level, so the higher-education gap is not in PuroChile: only the gap in years of schooling.
99.2%
100.0%99.8%268th of 346
Literacy rate
98.8%
98.5%97.8%30th of 346
Reached secondary education
35.9%
38.1%36.7%226th of 346
Primary education only
20.3%
22.3%24.1%319th of 346
Never attended school
2.45%
2.65%3.01%313th of 346
Average years of schooling, men · The census publishes this average over the population aged 18 or over and crosses age with sex only in five-year bands, so it is weighted by the population aged 15 or over of each sex. Rebuilt from the 346 comunas it gives 12.1 years, the same figure INE published for the country.
12.9 yrs
12.4 yrs12.1 yrs27th of 346
Average years of schooling, women · Same weight and same caveat as the figure for men.
12.8 yrs
12.4 yrs12.1 yrs26th of 346
Illiteracy · People aged 15 or over who say they cannot read or write.
1.23%
1.50%2.18%313th of 345
Households lacking schooling
9.9%
12.0%15.1%309th of 335
Secondary school leavers · Secondary education for children and young people, by the comuna of the school where they took it. Adults are counted apart.
3,790
6,688217,5658th of 331
Leaves from technical-vocational school · Commercial, industrial, technical, agricultural and maritime tracks.
27.5%
28.3%33.9%224th of 331
Leaves from a rural school · By the school's own rural classification. A zero here is a measured zero —the comuna had a graduating class and none of its graduates came from a rural school—, not a cell without data: two in three comunas are in that situation. There is no continuation rate split by rural and urban because the median comuna's rural divisor does not reach thirty graduates.
1.6%
1.9%3.1%108th of 331
Of those continuing, enters a university · The three destinations split the same total and add up to 100.
65.3%
61.5%67.2%136th of 331
Of those continuing, enters a professional institute · The three destinations split the same total and add up to 100.
18.2%
18.2%19.7%171st of 331
Of those continuing, enters a technical training centre · The three destinations split the same total and add up to 100.
16.4%
20.4%13.1%157th of 331
Of those continuing, studies outside their region · Compares the region of the school they graduated from with the region of the campus where they enrol. A campus is not necessarily where the student lives.
17.6%
13.0%13.0%139th of 331
Of those continuing, women · The graduates module does not publish sex, so there is no continuation rate by sex: only the make-up of those who do continue.
48.2%
48.2%49.7%240th of 331

The class of 2024

Mineduc (SIES), by the comuna they went to school in

Approximation: the comuna is the one this cohort was enrolled in for secondary school, which is what Mineduc publishes — not a home address, which it does not.

3,790left secondary school in 2024
2,202enrolled in a first-year programme in 2025
58.1%continued immediately
65%of those, to a university
18%of those, outside their region

The ten programmes they enrolled in most

0.0%2.0%4.0%6.0%DerechoIngenieria Civil IndustrialIngenieria ComercialPsicologiaIngenieria Civil en Computacion E InformaticaKinesiologiaEnfermeriaTecnico en EnfermeriaMedicina VeterinariaArquitectura
0.0%2.0%4.0%6.0%DerechoIngenieria Civil IndustrialIngenieria ComercialPsicologiaIngenieria Civil en Computacion E InformaticaKinesiologiaEnfermeriaTecnico en EnfermeriaMedicina VeterinariaArquitectura
La SerenaChile

Each bar is that programme's share of everyone who continued, here and in the country — not a headcount, so a commune of a few hundred can be read beside a country of 121,050. Programme names as the register writes them: in capitals and without accents, and unmerged, since SIES publishes 1,481 distinct names in a single year and two spellings of one degree stay two rows. Only the capitals are undone here.

By field of study

0.0%20.0%40.0%Engineering and industryBusiness and lawHealth and welfareInformation technologyEducationServicesSocial sciencesNatural sciencesArts and humanitiesAgriculture and veterinary
0.0%20.0%40.0%Engineering and industryBusiness and lawHealth and welfareInformation technologyEducationServicesSocial sciencesNatural sciencesArts and humanitiesAgriculture and veterinary
La SerenaChile

The ten broad fields of ISCED-F 2013, as SIES classifies each programme, as a share of everyone who continued, here and in the country.

Nineteen cohorts, 2006–2024

01,0002,0003,0004,0002006201520243,7902,202
01,0002,0003,0004,0002006201520243,7902,202
left secondary schoolenrolled the following year

Only enrolment the following March counts — someone who works for a year and starts after that is not here, so the rate is a floor under how many ever study, not an estimate of it. Adult secondary education is counted separately and is not in these figures. What the approximation above does not settle is catchment: this is the cohort La Serena's schools taught, and where schools draw pupils from next door that is not the same set of children as the ones the territory raised.

The hospital figures come from DEIS's discharge register: one row per completed stay, in any establishment in the country, counted in the commune where the patient lives rather than where the hospital is. It counts stays, not people — someone admitted three times is three of them.

The deaths it records are the ones that happened during a stay. Deaths at home or in the street are in the vital statistics register, which is a different DEIS release and is not in PuroChile — so nothing here is this place's mortality, and every label says «hospitalaria» for that reason.

The two standardised ratios are the ones meant for comparing places: they hold La Serena against what its own age and sex structure would produce at the country's rates, with Chile fixed at 100. A commune of older people buries more people than a commune of young families, and that is demography, not health.

In 2024, 7.5% of the country's discharges arrive with every identifying field replaced by an asterisk and cannot be attached to any commune; what is counted here is the 91.4% that carries one.

Which health system

La Serena86%Fonasa9.5%IsapreChile83%Fonasa13%Isapre
La Serena86%FonasaChile83%Fonasa
FonasaIsapreNo coverOther system or undeclared% of the population counted
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Disability prevalence
9.3%
9.7%10.6%293rd of 346
Public health insurance
85.9%
87.0%82.6%272nd of 335
Hospital discharges per 1,000 residents · Not age-adjusted. It mixes how much illness there is with how much hospital there is nearby.
69.1
64.982.5173rd of 331
In-hospital mortality, standardised ratio · Chile = 100, adjusting for this comuna's age and sex.
88
84100174th of 331
See the other 21 indicators
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
People with a disability
23,236
54,4731,950,38819th of 346
Average age, people with a disability
54.4 yrs
54.7 yrs56.4 yrs300th of 346
Disability among 65+
41.1%
41.3%43.0%287th of 346
Difficulty walking
4.01%
4.22%4.92%295th of 346
Difficulty seeing
3.90%
4.11%4.58%296th of 346
Difficulty hearing
1.73%
1.85%2.16%307th of 346
Difficulty concentrating
2.58%
2.59%2.70%229th of 346
Private health insurance
9.5%
7.6%13.2%59th of 335
No health coverage
2.46%
3.22%1.98%101st of 335
Sought care when ill · Of those who had an illness or accident in the last three months.
92.2%
92.7%92.1%196th of 332
Households lacking health access
4.5%
5.5%6.0%200th of 335
Hospital discharges · Episodes, not people: someone hospitalised three times counts three times.
17,291
36,5201,523,71624th of 331
Deaths during a hospital stay · Only those that happen in hospital; the rest do not go through this register.
415
90036,69819th of 331
In-hospital case fatality · Of every 100 hospital stays, how many end in death.
2.40%
2.46%2.41%228th of 331
Average length of stay · Bed-days over discharges, averaged after adding up.
6.2 days
6.4 days6.1 days203rd of 331
In-hospital deaths per 10,000 residents · Not age-adjusted, and therefore high where the population is older.
16.6
16.019.9217th of 331
Hospitalisation, standardised ratio · Chile = 100, adjusting for this comuna's age and sex.
85
80100154th of 331
Cancer hospitalisations · Discharges with a malignant tumour (C00-C97) as the main diagnosis. Episodes, not people.
1,179
2,26489,72318th of 330
Share of hospitalisations that are for cancer · Of every 100 discharges in the comuna, how many are for a malignant tumour.
6.8%
6.2%5.9%79th of 330
Cancer hospitalisations per 10,000 residents · Not age-adjusted: above all it compares how old the comuna is.
47.1
40.348.696th of 330
Cancer hospitalisation, standardised ratio · Chile = 100, adjusting for this comuna's age and sex. It is the only one of the four made for comparing places.
101
8510072nd of 330

What people are hospitalised for

Digestive and urinary tract 23%Heart and lungs 21%Pregnancy, birth … 18%Injuries, bon… 15%Tumours, blood and met… 14%Infectio… 4.5%Mind, ne… 3.9%Digestive system15%Genitouri…system8.4%Circulatorysystem11%Respiratorysystem10%Pregnancy andchildbirth15%Perinatal…Congen…Injuries andpoisoning9.2%Musculoskel…4.6%Cancers andtumours9.5%Endocri…andmetabol…4.2%Infec…andparas…Contact…Ill-def…Nervo…systemMent…andbeha…
Digestive and urinary… 23%Heart and lungs 21%Pregnancy… 18%Injuries, bones and s… 15%Tumours, blood and me… 14%Digestivesystem15%Genitou…system8.4%Circulato…system11%Respirat…system10%Pregnancyandchildbirth15%Perinatal…Cong…Injuries andpoisoning9.2%Musculos…4.6%Cancers andtumours9.5%Endocr…andmetabo…Infect…and…Contactwith…Ill-d…NervoussystemMen…andbeh…
hover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile; click a group to open itSeven families of cause, grouped by PuroChile from the 22 ICD-10 chapters. The chapter is still the tile; the family is nothing but the sum of its chapters.

By tumour site

Órganos digestivos23%Sangre y sistemalinfático13%Mama13%Genitalesfemeninos11%Genitalesmasculinos7.7%Vías urinarias7.6%Tiroides yendocrinas7.3%Sitiosmaldefinidos4.2%Víasrespirator…3.3%Piel ymelanoma2.7%Tejidosblandos2.5%Boca yfarin…2.0%Encéfaloysistema…Huesos1.4%
Órganos digestivos23%Sangre ysistemalinfático13%Mama13%Genitalesfemeninos11%Genitalesmasculinos7.7%Víasurinarias7.6%Tiroides yendocrinas7.3%Sitios maldefinidosVíasrespira…3.3%Piel ymelan…2.7%Teji…blan…Boca yfarin…2.0%Encé…ysist…
Órganos digestivosSangre y sistema linfáticoMamaGenitales femeninosGenitales masculinosVías urinariashover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile

Economy and poverty

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IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Income poverty · People in households whose income does not cover the poverty line.
18.8%
19.8%17.3%199th of 335
Average monthly pay · Reported net pay in UF divided by workers weighted by months worked.
29.2 UF
26.9 UF32.0 UF47th of 342
Women's pay as share of men's · 100 means parity; below 100, women earn less per full-time-equivalent job.
81.2%
85.9%78.9%301st of 342
Firms per 1,000 residents · Firms with their registered address or head office in the territory; in comunas where large firms are registered the figure reflects the head office, not the activity.
76.5
71.085.6177th of 346
See the other 16 indicators
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Employment rate · Employed people over the population aged 15 or over.
52.1%
52.2%54.4%152nd of 345
Census unemployment · Measured by the Census, not by Casen: the two ask differently.
9.3%
9.8%8.6%128th of 345
Self-employed
34.7%
35.4%33.8%179th of 345
Extreme poverty
9.6%
9.1%6.9%117th of 335
Multidimensional poverty · Households with deprivations in education, health, work, housing or networks.
12.5%
16.4%17.7%260th of 335
Unemployment rate
7.9%
8.9%8.8%211th of 335
Household income per capita · Chilean pesos per month, corrected total income.
CLP 706,716
CLP 648,217CLP 783,12453rd of 335
Gini coefficient · 0 is a perfectly equal split and 1 a perfectly unequal one. On household per-capita income (ypchtotcor). A survey estimate: in comunas with a small sample the interval is wide.
0.461
0.4480.48892nd of 321
Registered firms
19,144
39,9461,582,39015th of 346
Annual sales
133,995,768 UF
227,907,842 UF34,347,683,688 UF30th of 342
Employees reported · People reported at some point in the tax year, not average employment: the national total exceeds the employed because someone who worked two months counts the same as someone who worked twelve.
83,103
157,0239,699,16421st of 346
Sales per firm
6,999 UF
5,705 UF21,706 UF86th of 342
Employees per firm · Workers weighted by months worked, so two half-year jobs are not counted as two positions.
2.8
2.53.998th of 346
Women among employees
40.3%
39.5%40.6%188th of 345
Independent contractors
30,092
56,0853,958,26920th of 346
Contractors as share of workers
26.6%
26.3%29.0%185th of 346

Employment by industry

Trade and logistics 28%State and social services 24%Industry and… 15%Natural reso… 15%Advanced services 12%Other… 6.3%Retail andwholesale17%Accommodationand food5.6%Transport5.4%Education11%Health8.8%Public administration4.2%Construction8.5%Manufactur…5.0%Ele…andgasWat…andwas…Mining13%Agriculture and…Professionalservices4.3%AdministrativeservicesInform…and…Financeand…RealestateOtherservices3.2%Domest…work1.9%Artsandent…
Trade and logistics 28%State and social … 24%Industry … 15%Natural r… 15%Advanced ser… 12%Other servi… 6.3%Retail andwholesale17%Accommod…and food5.6%Transport5.4%Education11%Health8.8%Public administrationConstruction8.5%Manufactu…5.0%Mining13%Profes…servic…4.3%Administrat…servicesInf…andcom…OtherservicesDome…work
hover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile; click a group to open itSix activity families, grouped by PuroChile from CAENES.

Employment by occupation

Skilled occupations 50%Managers and professionals 38%Elementary occupations 12%Service and sales21%Craft andtrades13%Plant and machineoperators9.6%Clericalsupport5.3%Ski…agr…Professionals22%Technicians11%Managers5.1%Elementary occupations12%
Skilled occupations 50%Managers and professionals 38%Eleme… 12%Service andsales21%Craft andtrades13%Plant andmachineoperators9.6%Clericalsupport5.3%Professionals22%Technicians11%Managers5.1%Elementa…occupati…12%
Elementary occupationsArmed forceshover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile; click a group to open itCIUO-08 (ISCO) skill levels.

Housing and services

See all →

House or flat

La Serena79%House21%FlatChile79%House20%Flat
La Serena79%House21%Chile79%House20%
HouseFlat% of private dwellings
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Overcrowded dwellings
3.9%
4.4%5.7%304th of 345
Internet access
95.5%
94.6%93.2%36th of 345
Average distance to a facility with an emergency service · Population-weighted average of the straight-line distance from each of the 244,754 blocks and rural entities of the 2024 census to the nearest facility standing in September 2026. It is a floor: nobody travels in a straight line.
2.2
2.42.3254th of 345
Average distance to a school teaching upper secondary · Population-weighted average of the straight-line distance from each of the 244,754 blocks and rural entities of the 2024 census to the nearest facility standing in 2025. It is a floor: nobody travels in a straight line.
1.1
1.61.6284th of 345
See the other 35 indicators
IndicatorValueAgainst its peersProvinceChileRank
Occupied dwellings with residents
84,117
188,5786,408,17216th of 346
Critically overcrowded
0.28%
0.32%0.57%234th of 345
Irrecoverable dwellings
0.91%
1.21%1.13%225th of 345
Public water network
92.3%
91.9%92.3%105th of 345
Electricity access
99.7%
99.5%99.6%79th of 345
Detached houses
78.9%
85.7%78.7%314th of 345
Apartments
20.4%
13.3%19.9%32nd of 345
Precarious wall materials
0.20%
0.22%0.23%140th of 345
Unoccupied private dwellings
19.8%
19.9%11.9%123rd of 345
Quantitative housing deficit
5,132
12,383491,90430th of 345
Housing deficit as share of households
5.9%
6.4%7.5%130th of 345
Renting households
26.6%
23.7%26.2%48th of 345
Owner-occupiers
63.1%
65.1%61.1%258th of 345
Households heating with wood · Firewood is the main source of urban air pollution in the south.
5.9%
5.8%24.4%280th of 345
Commute by public transport
38.8%
38.9%42.1%60th of 345
Walks to work
9.2%
10.8%10.2%260th of 345
Households with a computer
61.9%
56.5%54.9%23rd of 345
Average distance to any health facility · Population-weighted average of the straight-line distance from each of the 244,754 blocks and rural entities of the 2024 census to the nearest facility standing in September 2026. It is a floor: nobody travels in a straight line.
1.0
1.11.1277th of 345
People within 5 km of any health facility · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 5 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
97.5%
96.9%97.0%103rd of 345
People within 15 km of any health facility · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 15 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
99.9%
99.9%99.9%246th of 345
People within 30 km of any health facility · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 30 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
100.0%
100.0%100.0%1st of 345
People within 5 km of a facility with an emergency service · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 5 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
91.3%
90.2%89.4%96th of 345
People within 15 km of a facility with an emergency service · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 15 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
97.5%
97.5%98.1%176th of 345
People within 30 km of a facility with an emergency service · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 30 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
100.0%
99.8%99.7%247th of 345
Average distance to a second- or third-level facility · Population-weighted average of the straight-line distance from each of the 244,754 blocks and rural entities of the 2024 census to the nearest facility standing in September 2026. It is a floor: nobody travels in a straight line.
2.2
4.05.9282nd of 345
People within 5 km of a second- or third-level facility · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 5 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
90.0%
85.3%80.3%80th of 345
People within 15 km of a second- or third-level facility · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 15 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
97.5%
91.3%90.0%108th of 345
People within 30 km of a second- or third-level facility · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 30 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in September 2026.
99.9%
96.2%96.2%156th of 345
Average distance to a school in operation · Population-weighted average of the straight-line distance from each of the 244,754 blocks and rural entities of the 2024 census to the nearest facility standing in 2025. It is a floor: nobody travels in a straight line.
0.5
0.60.6282nd of 345
People within 5 km of a school in operation · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 5 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in 2025.
98.6%
98.8%99.0%170th of 345
People within 15 km of a school in operation · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 15 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in 2025.
100.0%
100.0%99.9%1st of 345
People within 30 km of a school in operation · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 30 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in 2025.
100.0%
100.0%100.0%1st of 345
People within 5 km of a school teaching upper secondary · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 5 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in 2025.
96.4%
92.8%91.6%78th of 345
People within 15 km of a school teaching upper secondary · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 15 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in 2025.
99.5%
98.6%98.5%142nd of 345
People within 30 km of a school teaching upper secondary · Lives in a census block or rural entity within 30 km of the nearest facility, as the crow flies. Population from the 2024 census; facilities as they stood in 2025.
100.0%
99.8%99.8%243rd of 345

How people commute

Private vehicle 40%Public transport 39%On foot or by bicycle 12%Other means 9.1%Car39%Public transport39%Walking9.2%Bic…Other9.1%
Private vehicle 40%Public transport 39%On foot or by bicycle 12%Other means 9.1%Car39%Public transport39%Walking9.2%Bicy…Other9.1%
Public transporthover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile; click a group to open itFour modes, grouped by PuroChile.

Housing tenure

Owned 63%Rented 27%Provided rent-… 7.7%Owned outright43%Owned, still paying20%Rented, withcontract21%Rented, no contract5.5%Provided byfamily7.0%Otherarran…2.5%
Owned 63%Rented 27%Provid… 7.7%Owned outright43%Owned,stillpaying20%Rented, with contract21%Rente…nocontr…5.5%Providedby family7.0%Other…
Otherhover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile; click a group to open itFour tenure types, grouped by PuroChile.

Home heating fuel

No heating 45%Fossil fuels 28%Electricity 21%Wood an… 6.3%No heating45%Gas24%Paraff…3.4%Electricity21%Firewood5.9%
No heating 45%Fossil fuels 28%Electricity 21%Wood… 6.3%No heating45%Gas24%ParaffinElectricity21%Firewood5.9%
No heatingElectricityOther sourcehover a tile for its count and its distance from Chile; click a group to open itFour fuel types, grouped by PuroChile.

How it voted in 2025

TRICEL · qualified result
86.3%
of the registered voted in the first round
85.8%
voted in the runoff
201,924
registered voters on the roll
8.2%
of runoff ballots were null or blank

Presidential runoff · 14 December

Jeannette Jara Roman46.3%41.7%
Jose Antonio Kast Rist53.7%58.3%
La SerenaChileshare of the valid vote

Presidential, first round · 16 November

Franco Parisi Fernandez21.9%19.8%
Jeannette Jara Roman28.7%26.7%
Marco Antonio Enriquez-Ominami Gumucio1.1%1.2%
Johannes Kaiser Barents-Von Hohenhagen14.7%13.9%
Jose Antonio Kast Rist19.0%24.0%
Eduardo Antonio Artes Brichetti0.7%0.7%
Evelyn Matthei Fornet12.6%12.4%
Harold Mayne-Nicholls Secul1.4%1.3%
La SerenaChileshare of the valid vote

Chamber of Deputies · 16 November

CUnidad por Chile29.2%30.6%
KCambio por Chile18.5%23.0%
JChile Grande y Unido17.4%21.1%
IPartido de la Gente11.4%12.0%
BVerdes, Regionalistas y Humanistas4.2%6.9%
DIzquierda Ecologista Popular Animalista y Humanista3.3%2.6%
APartido Ecologista Verde—0.8%
EMovimiento Amarillos por Chile16.0%0.8%
GPartido Alianza Verde Popular—0.6%
FPartido de Trabajadores Revolucionarios—0.6%
HPopular—0.2%
Independents outside a pact—0.7%
La SerenaChileshare of the valid vote

Sister communes

How this is computed

The four communes that most resemble La Serena across the 28 figures PuroChile publishes for the 345 communes with complete data, grouped into seven dimensions of equal weight. This is not proximity: nothing in the computation knows where any commune is.

ScalePopulation structureMigrationEducationHealthEconomyHousing and services

The figure beside each name is the distance between the two communes: 0 would be identical, and 1.48 is what separates any two communes in the country. Each bar is one of the seven dimensions, and reaches the end when the two differ on it by twice what two communes picked at random do. Location is not part of the computation: 52% of these pairings cross into another region.

Inside the commune

Census districts
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