Alajuela
District in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Official statistics compared with Alajuela and the whole country, and REAL NOW market prices.
Population, housing and safety
Each figure next to the parent region and the country, so you can tell whether it stands out.
Population and housing
| AlajuelaDistrict | AlajuelaCanton | Costa RicaCountry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 44,374 | 322,143 | 5,044,197 |
| Area, km² | 10.6 | 391.6 | 51,146.6 |
| Density per km² | 4,182 | 823 | 99 |
| Population growth, a year | 0.3% | 2.1% | 1.4% |
| Dwellings | 15,391 | 110,560 | 1,836,035 |
| Unoccupied dwellings | 6.5% | 7.8% | 11.7% |
| Persons per occupied dwelling | 3.07 | 3.08 | 3.10 |
Source: INEC Costa Rica, 2022 estimate
Crime, last 12 closed months
| AlajuelaDistrict | AlajuelaCanton | Costa RicaCountry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All reported crimes | 1,016 | 2,620 | 36,302 |
| Per 1,000 residents | 22.90 | 8.13 | 7.20 |
| Change vs previous 12 months | +7.2% | +5.0% | -8.0% |
| Homicides | 3 | 27 | 775 |
| Reported crimes in 2024homicides: 7 | 1,103 | 2,698 | 43,137 |
| Reported crimes in 2025homicides: 2 | 935 | 2,466 | 38,780 |
Source: OIJ – Poder Judicial de Costa Rica (CC BY 4.0)
Crime by type
| Type | 12 months | Per 1,000 | vs prior 12 m | Country, per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assault and mugging | 205 | 4.62 | -4.7% | 1.51 |
| Theft | 397 | 8.95 | -1.7% | 2.40 |
| Break-ins | 199 | 4.48 | +77.7% | 1.53 |
| Theft from vehicles | 100 | 2.25 | +8.7% | 0.73 |
| Vehicle theft | 112 | 2.52 | -9.7% | 0.87 |
| Homicide | 3 | 0.07 | — | 0.15 |
Source: OIJ – Poder Judicial de Costa Rica (CC BY 4.0)
Official land value
What the Ministry of Finance uses as the reference value of land for property tax, by homogeneous zone. A fiscal reference, not an appraisal.
Urban residential zones
| AlajuelaDistrict | AlajuelaCanton | Costa RicaCountry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median per m², US$ | US$265 | US$210 | US$177 |
| Median per m², colones | ₡120,000 | ₡95,000 | ₡80,000 |
Source: ONT – Ministerio de Hacienda. Fiscal reference value, not an appraisal.
How the zones are spread
Converted at 452.13 colones per US dollar (2026-09).
Source: ONT – Ministerio de Hacienda. Fiscal reference value, not an appraisal.
Zones in this district
| Zone | Code | Type | Colones per m² | US$ per m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MERCADO CENTRAL | U01 | urban · commercial | ₡550,000 | US$1,216 |
| TERMINAL EL PACIFICO | U02 | urban · commercial | ₡510,000 | US$1,128 |
| BANCO NACIONAL - AVENIDA 10 | U49 | urban · commercial | ₡415,000 | US$918 |
| CALLE ANCHA - AGONIA | U34 | urban · commercial | ₡380,000 | US$840 |
| CONDOMINIO LAS ROSAS | U82 | urban · commercial | ₡350,000 | US$774 |
| CONDOMINIO POLVAR | U84 | urban · commercial | ₡350,000 | US$774 |
| ESCUELA ASCENSION ESQUIVEL | U03 | urban · commercial | ₡345,000 | US$763 |
| CEMACO | U39 | urban · commercial | ₡340,000 | US$752 |
| LA CORTE | U05 | urban · commercial | ₡300,000 | US$664 |
| EL CARMEN | U51 | urban · commercial | ₡300,000 | US$664 |
| EL TRIANGULO - AVENIDA 10 | U54 | urban · commercial | ₡295,000 | US$652 |
| EL BODEGON - PEQUEÑO MUNDO | U61 | urban · commercial | ₡276,000 | US$610 |
| RADIAL FRANCISCO J. ORLICH - MONUMENTO AL AGRICULTOR | U41/U78 | mixed urban · commercial | ₡235,000 | US$520 |
| BARRIO LIZANO | U53 | urban · residential | ₡230,000 | US$509 |
| CONDOMINIO NOVATRIANA | U89 | urban · residential | ₡230,000 | US$509 |
| CRISTO REY | U60 | urban · commercial | ₡225,000 | US$498 |
| REPUESTOS GIGANTE | U93 | urban · commercial | ₡220,000 | US$487 |
| ESTADIO | U32/U92 | mixed urban · commercial | ₡210,000 | US$464 |
| PASO FLORES | U50 | urban · residential | ₡205,000 | US$453 |
| INSTITUTO DE ALAJUELA | U33 | urban · commercial | ₡200,000 | US$442 |
| CONDOMINIO MORERA BOLAÑOS | U85 | urban · commercial | ₡190,000 | US$420 |
| CONDOMINIO CAMINO REAL | U88 | urban · residential | ₡180,000 | US$398 |
| RESIDENCIAL TROPICANA | U37 | urban · residential | ₡178,000 | US$394 |
| CONDOMINIO AGAL | U91 | urban · residential | ₡175,000 | US$387 |
| RESIDENCIAL MONTENEGRO | U10 | urban · residential | ₡175,000 | US$387 |
| BARRIO AGONIA | U31 | urban · residential | ₡170,000 | US$376 |
| PRICESMART - PALI | U59 | urban · commercial | ₡170,000 | US$376 |
| LOTES MURILLO | U08 | urban · residential | ₡160,000 | US$354 |
| HILTON GARDEN INN | U86 | urban · commercial | ₡150,000 | US$332 |
| RESIDENCIAL CIRUELAS | U35 | urban · residential | ₡150,000 | US$332 |
| RESIDENCIAL REAL TERRANOVA | U25 | urban · residential | ₡150,000 | US$332 |
| PLAZA REAL ALAJUELA | U36 | urban · commercial | ₡150,000 | US$332 |
| CORAZON DE JESUS | U04 | urban · residential | ₡150,000 | US$332 |
| CONDOMINIO NAZ | U80 | urban · residential | ₡133,000 | US$294 |
| RESIDENCIAL EL REY | U23 | urban · residential | ₡130,000 | US$288 |
| HOSPITAL SAN RAFAEL | U40 | urban · residential | ₡130,000 | US$288 |
| BARRIO ARROYO | U52 | urban · residential | ₡130,000 | US$288 |
| VILLA HERMOSA | R30/U30 | rural-urban · residential | ₡130,000 | US$288 |
| ALTOS DE MONTENEGRO | U12 | urban · residential | ₡130,000 | US$288 |
| CONDOMINIO ARI - EL TRAPICHE | U83 | urban · residential | ₡125,000 | US$276 |
| RESIDENCIAL BAVIERA | U55 | urban · residential | ₡125,000 | US$276 |
| RESIDENCIAL CAMPO VERDE | U16 | urban · residential | ₡120,000 | US$265 |
| RESIDENCIAL ELIZABETH | U70 | urban · residential | ₡120,000 | US$265 |
| RESIDENCIAL LOS ADOBES | U28 | urban · residential | ₡120,000 | US$265 |
| SAN MARTIN | U06 | urban · residential | ₡120,000 | US$265 |
| CONDOMINIO MONTENEGRO | U69 | urban · residential | ₡115,000 | US$254 |
| SANTA TERESITA | U47 | urban · commercial | ₡110,000 | US$243 |
| RESIDENCIAL MEZA | U63 | urban · residential | ₡110,000 | US$243 |
| LA GUARIA - INVERNADERO | R20/U20 | rural-urban · residential | ₡110,000 | US$243 |
| CONDOMINIO LOS HIGUERONES | U77 | urban · residential | ₡110,000 | US$243 |
| LLANOS DEL MOLINO | U57 | urban · residential | ₡105,000 | US$232 |
| RESIDENCIAL BARCELONA | U56 | urban · residential | ₡105,000 | US$232 |
| RESIDENCIAL LOS PINOS | U71 | urban · residential | ₡100,000 | US$221 |
| EL LLANO | U26 | urban · residential | ₡100,000 | US$221 |
| RESIDENCIAL SITIO IDEAL | U15 | urban · residential | ₡95,000 | US$210 |
| MOLINOS DE COSTA RICA | U45/U46 | mixed urban · residential | ₡95,000 | US$210 |
| CITY MALL | U79 | urban · commercial | ₡95,000 | US$210 |
| VILLA BONITA - PUENTE ARENA | R43/U43 | rural-urban · residential | ₡90,000 | US$199 |
| LOTES LLOBETH | U48 | urban · residential | ₡90,000 | US$199 |
| CANOAS | R21/U21 | rural-urban · residential | ₡90,000 | US$199 |
Source: ONT – Ministerio de Hacienda. Fiscal reference value, not an appraisal.
Prices, rent and yield
Medians over the aggregated public offer seen in the last 30 days. List prices, not closed sales.
Sources and methodology
Official statistics
- Population, dwellings, density and growth: INEC Costa Rica, 2022 estimate by district. Unoccupied share = unoccupied dwellings divided by all dwellings.
- Crimes: reports to the OIJ of assault, theft, break-ins, vehicle theft, theft from vehicles and homicide, summed over the last 12 closed months (2025-10 to 2026-09). The rate per 1,000 residents uses the 2022 population; the trend compares with the previous 12 months and is shown only when that window has at least 10 cases.
- Land value: ONT (Ministerio de Hacienda) homogeneous-zone values for urban residential zones. It is a fiscal reference value, not an appraisal and not the current value of any property. Median across zones, not weighted by area.
REAL NOW market metrics
- Sale: median asking price per m² of apartments and houses for sale seen in the last 30 days in the aggregated public offer, with the same outlier bounds as Analytics. List prices, not closed sales.
- Confidence: solid = 30 or more listings, preliminary = 15 to 29; below 15 nothing is published.
- Rent and gross yield: REAL NOW rent benchmarks, median monthly rent of homes; gross yield = rent × 12 ÷ sale price of the same cell, published only between 3 and 12 percent. Available by province or department and by municipality or canton.