What is the capital of Costa Rica?
San Jose lies in the mid-west of Costa Rica's Central Valley, near the centre of the country, at an elevation of about 1,030 metres.
San José is the capital and seat of government of Costa Rica, a role it has held since 1823. Costa Rica itself has an estimated population of 5,152,950 (2025).
San José is also the largest city in Costa Rica, which is the usual arrangement, though it is far from universal: see the countries where capital and largest city differ.
San José at a glance
| City population | 352,381 (2022 estimate) |
|---|---|
| Country | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| Founded | 1736 |
| Capital since | 1823 |
| Largest city in Costa Rica | San José |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) |
About San José
San Jose was founded in 1736 by order of the Cabildo de Leon.
San José has been the capital of Costa Rica since 1823, when the seat of government moved to San Jose from the colonial capital of Cartago.
Cartago was Costa Rica's colonial capital until the seat of government moved to San Jose in 1823.
San Jose is regularly counted among the safest cities in Latin America.
The city is home to Costa Rica's National Theater and National Museum, and joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.
City facts sourced from Wikipedia: San Jose, Costa Rica.
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Costa Rica?
Is San José the largest city in Costa Rica?
What is the population of San José?
Where is San José located?
When did San José become the capital of Costa Rica?
What was the capital of Costa Rica before San José?
What time zone is San José in?
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Capitals of neighbouring countries
See the full profile of Costa Rica on its country page, or browse every capital city.
Capital and country data from open datasets; city and metropolitan populations are hand-curated per city and cited where they are shown. Populations of countries come from the World Bank (SP.POP.TOTL). Full sources and vintage on the data page. Last updated . Report a correction.