A recent CNN report revealed that are more Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. mainland than there are Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico.

Because of recent wave of migrations from Puerto Rico to the contiguous U.S. to find work, by 2011 the Census Bureau found that there were more than a million native Puerto Ricans living on the mainland -- 4.9 million to 3.7 million.

According to the Census Bureau's Community Survey, between 2011 and 2012, about 55,000 Puerto Rican citizens migrated to the mainland each year.

The largest migration of Puerto Rican natives to the mainland since the 1950s occurred between 2000 and 2010 with 300,000 people. During the '50s, nearly a half-million people migrated from Puerto Rico to the mainland, according to CNN.

Puerto Rican Institute of Statistics Executive Director Mario Marazzi told CNN that the substantial population shift is attributed to the island's poor economy, which is still suffering from a 2006 recession.

While the entire U.S. struggles with a 7.3 percent unemployment rate, Puerto Rico's unemployment rate is nearly double that at 15 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Standard & Poor announced last month that it lowered Puerto Rico's credit rating as it faces a $70 billion debt, and last week, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed a bill allowing the sale of $3.5 million in tax-free general obligation bonds.

According to CNN, Detroit, which has been the poster child of what a horrible economy looks like in the U.S, is still better off than Puerto Rico because the island, being a U.S. commonwealth or unincorporated territory, cannot file for bankruptcy court protection.

During the Puerto Rican elections in 2012, a measure was added on the ballot to vote for the island to become the 51st American state, which received overwhelming support. However, the vote was not recognized in Washington, D.C. so those hopes were essentially squashed.

Surey Miranda, 24, left Puerto Rico last year to find work and a better life in the U.S. after receiving a political science degree in 2012 from the University of Puerto Rico.

During her college career, she found various internships and got a part-time job with the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Still, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of utilities, rent, gas and tolls made it difficult for her to survive on the island.

"Back home, I was sharing an apartment with six other students, and still my expenses were taking up 70 percent of my salary," Miranda lamented. "It was simply impossible."

Miranda also said she was reluctant to leave her native home, but the growing pressure of finding work weighed too much on her shoulders.

"It was a challenge to find a job in Puerto Rico," she said. "Unfortunately, finding work in government can be challenging, especially since it's the island's main source of employment."

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