San José

Capital of Costa Rica: population, location, elevation, climate and landmarks.

Cityscape of San José, Costa Rica (253552473)

Cityscape of San José, Costa Rica (253552473): Xlionheartx, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Overview

San José is the capital of Costa Rica. About 335,007 people live in the city proper, making it the 1st largest city of Costa Rica in our atlas.

It lies at 9.93° N, 84.08° W, about 1,133 m (3,717 ft) above sea level, and keeps time on the America/Costa_Rica time zone. It sits inside the tropics.

Location

Red dot: San José. Green dots: other major cities of Costa Rica. Map data: Natural Earth.

Climate

San José has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). The warmest month is usually Mar, with average highs near 30°C (86°F); the coolest nights come in Jan at about 18°C (65°F). Around 1,791 mm (71 in) of rain and snow falls in a typical year, most of it in Oct.

27°18°Jan3828°19°Feb2230°19°Mar2930°20°Apr7628°21°May22026°21°Jun20926°20°Jul18426°20°Aug19826°20°Sep25625°20°Oct30126°19°Nov18826°19°Dec70mm

Bars: average daily high and low (°C) for each month; blue columns and figures: average precipitation (mm). Gridded 2001-2025 averages from NASA POWER, so mountain and coastal spots can differ from local station records.

Landmarks and places to see

Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar
Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón BolívarZoo and botanical garden in Costa Rica
Plaza de la Democracia
Plaza de la DemocraciaPublic plaza in Costa Rica
Costa Rican Museum of Art
Costa Rican Museum of ArtArt museum in Costa Rica
Costa Rican Center of Science and Culture
Costa Rican Center of Science and CultureMuseum in Costa Rica also known as Museo de Los Niños
Museum of Contemporary Art and Design
Museum of Contemporary Art and DesignCosta Rican museum
Museo de Ciencias Naturales La SalleMuseum in Costa Rica
Museum of Italian Contemporary Art in America
Museum of Italian Contemporary Art in AmericaCosta Rican contemporary art museum
Museum of Forms, Space and SoundLandmark

Popular sights within a few kilometres of the city centre, ranked by how widely they are documented on Wikipedia.

What to eat in Costa RicaNational dishes, street food, desserts and drinks on Intercontinental Chef.

Nearby major cities

← Costa RicaAll cities

Sources

Text written by Geographical Effect from these sources.

Photo credits
  • Cityscape of San José, Costa Rica (253552473): Xlionheartx, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Cebus capucinus. Zoológico Simón Bolívar. Costa Rica: Rodtico21, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Plaza Democracia CR 1: Antonio Solera, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Museo de Arte Costarricense: Rodtico21, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Museo de los Niños, San José, Costa Rica: Antonio.solera, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Mapamadc: MADC, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Palazzo-Museo-MACIA: Marcalbertini70, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)