District · Costa Rica
Santa Cruz
District in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica. Official statistics compared with Santa Cruz and the whole country, and REAL NOW market prices.
Population
29,634
INEC estimate, 2022 #30 of 487
Crimes per 1,000 residents
13.9
411 reports in 12 months -18.3% #26 of 487
Homicides
3
last 12 months · previous 12: 1
Official land value
US$84/m²
median of urban residential zones #222 of 441
Median sale price per m²
PRO
apartments and houses
Official statistics
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
| Santa CruzDistrict | Santa CruzCanton | Costa RicaCountry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 29,634 | 72,366 | 5,044,197 |
| Area, km² | 288.9 | 1,320.8 | 51,146.6 |
| Density per km² | 103 | 55 | 99 |
| Population growth, a year | 2.9% | 2.5% | 1.4% |
| Dwellings | 12,838 | 34,088 | 1,836,035 |
| Unoccupied dwellings | 22.8% | 25.4% | 11.7% |
| Persons per occupied dwelling | 2.99 | 2.84 | 3.10 |
Source: INEC Costa Rica, 2022 estimate
Crime, last 12 closed months
2025-10 – 2026-09 · per 1,000 residents of the 2022 estimate
| Santa CruzDistrict | Santa CruzCanton | Costa RicaCountry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All reported crimes | 411 | 846 | 36,302 |
| Per 1,000 residents | 13.87 | 11.69 | 7.20 |
| Change vs previous 12 months | -18.3% | -12.4% | -8.0% |
| Homicides | 3 | 22 | 775 |
| Reported crimes in 2024homicides: 3 | 530 | 1,123 | 43,137 |
| Reported crimes in 2025homicides: 3 | 467 | 927 | 38,780 |
Source: OIJ – Poder Judicial de Costa Rica (CC BY 4.0)
Crime by type
Reports to the OIJ in this region, last 12 closed months, and the monthly history.
| Type | 12 months | Per 1,000 | vs prior 12 m | Country, per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assault and mugging | 55 | 1.86 | -29.5% | 1.51 |
| Theft | 177 | 5.97 | -21.0% | 2.40 |
| Break-ins | 112 | 3.78 | +5.7% | 1.53 |
| Theft from vehicles | 37 | 1.25 | -37.3% | 0.73 |
| Vehicle theft | 27 | 0.91 | -22.9% | 0.87 |
| Homicide | 3 | 0.10 | — | 0.15 |
Source: OIJ – Poder Judicial de Costa Rica (CC BY 4.0)
Land value
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
16 zones in this region
| Santa CruzDistrict | Santa CruzCanton | Costa RicaCountry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median per m², US$ | US$84 | US$155 | US$177 |
| Median per m², colones | ₡38,000 | ₡70,000 | ₡80,000 |
Source: ONT – Ministerio de Hacienda. Fiscal reference value, not an appraisal.
How the zones are spread
Number of urban residential zones by value, US$ per m²
2
1
7
3
3
0
0
0
0
0–2525–5050–100100–150150–200200–300300–500500–10001000+
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
Highest value first; 38 zones in total.
| Zone | Code | Type | Colones per m² | US$ per m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUIDAD DE SANTA CRUZ | U01 | urban · commercial | ₡205,000 | US$453 |
| TRIBUNALES DE JUSTICIA - MERCADO MUNICIPAL - PLAZA BUENOS AIRES | U13 | urban · commercial | ₡145,000 | US$321 |
| MAG - RUTA NACIONAL 21 | U04 | urban · commercial | ₡125,000 | US$276 |
| CRUZ ROJA - COOPEALIANZA | U16 | urban · commercial | ₡120,000 | US$265 |
| BARRIO SANTA CECILIA - ESCUELA JOSEFINA LOPEZ BONILLA | U17 | urban · residential | ₡80,000 | US$177 |
| CONDOMINIO VISTA REAL SANTA CRUZ | U38 | urban · residential | ₡70,000 | US$155 |
| BARRIO BUENOS AIRES - RESIDENCIAL COROBICI - LICEO DE SANTA CRUZ | U12 | urban · residential | ₡70,000 | US$155 |
| SAN MARTIN - BARRIO LAS FLORES | U15 | urban · residential | ₡65,000 | US$144 |
| BARRIO PANAMA - AVENIDA 0 | U09 | urban · residential | ₡65,000 | US$144 |
| BARRIO TENORIO - ESTADIO CACIQUE DIRIA | R18/U18 | rural-urban · residential | ₡62,000 | US$137 |
| URBANIZACION TULITA SANDINO - BARRIOS LAJAS Y SAGAMAG | U14 | urban · residential | ₡60,000 | US$133 |
| PARCELAMIENTO EL POCHOTE | R07/U07 | rural-urban · residential | ₡53,000 | US$117 |
| BARRIO EL CODO - BARRIO LAS TECAS - BARRIO HATO VIEJO | R19/U19 | rural-urban · residential | ₡50,000 | US$111 |
| COOPEGUANACASTE - GASOLINERA SANTA CRUZ | U06 | urban · commercial | ₡50,000 | US$111 |
| BARRIO LIMON - UNIVERSIDAD LATINA | U02/U03 | mixed urban · residential | ₡45,000 | US$100 |
| RESIDENCIAL COROBICI - BARRIO ESTOCOLMO | U05 | urban · residential | ₡45,000 | US$100 |
| ARADO | R20/U20 | rural-urban · residential | ₡43,000 | US$95 |
| CAMPO FERIAL - RESIDENCIAL MALINCHE | R11/U11 | rural-urban · residential | ₡38,000 | US$84 |
| CHIRCO - LAGUNILLA | U22 | urban · residential | ₡31,000 | US$69 |
| BARRIO MARAVILLA | U35 | urban · residential | ₡30,000 | US$66 |
| SAN JUAN | R31/U31 | rural-urban · residential | ₡30,000 | US$66 |
| RESIDENCIAL CHOROTEGA - BARRIO JERUSALEN | U10 | urban · residential | ₡28,000 | US$62 |
| CAIMITO | R24/U24 | rural-urban · residential | ₡28,000 | US$62 |
| URBANIZACION EL CACAO | U37 | urban · residential | ₡25,000 | US$55 |
| GUAYABAL -BARRIO ESQUIPULAS | U08 | urban · residential | ₡24,000 | US$53 |
| DANTA - EL CONGAL - RIO ENMEDIO - EL HUECO - BERNABELA | R21/U21 | rural-urban · residential | ₡23,000 | US$51 |
| SAN PEDRO | R25/U25 | rural-urban · residential | ₡21,000 | US$46 |
| LOTIFICACION SANTA MARTA | U39 | urban · residential | ₡20,000 | US$44 |
| RIO CAÑAS VIEJO - HACIENDA EL GUABO | R26/U26 | rural-urban · residential | ₡11,000 | US$24 |
| PARCELAMIENTO JIMENEZ | U36 | urban · residential | ₡10,000 | US$22 |
| HACIENDA TRES CONEJOS - GANADERA EL COCAL | R28/U28 | rural-urban · residential | ₡8,000 | US$18 |
| PITAL - PAPELITO - FINCA LECHUZA - LA CASCABELA | R32/U32 | rural-urban · residential | ₡5,000 | US$11 |
| RINCON - CASERIO MONTE GALAN - CASERIO LA PENCA | R23/U23 | rural-urban · residential | ₡4,000 | US$9 |
| ANGELES DE ARADO | R34/U34 | rural-urban · residential | ₡2,800 | US$6 |
| PARQUE EOLICO CACAO | R29 | rural | ₡720 | US$2 |
| PARQUE NACIONAL DIRIA | R33 | rural | ₡120 | US$0 |
| CONDOMINIO DON JACINTO | U30 | urban · residential | ₡90 | US$0 |
| HUMEDAL LACUSTRINO RIO CAÑAS | R27 | rural | ₡75 | US$0 |
Source: ONT – Ministerio de Hacienda. Fiscal reference value, not an appraisal.
Market
Prices, rent and yield
Medians over the aggregated public offer seen in the last 30 days. List prices, not closed sales.
Methodology
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.
Sources: INEC Costa Rica (2022 estimate) · OIJ – Poder Judicial de Costa Rica (CC BY 4.0) · ONT – Ministerio de Hacienda (fiscal reference value, not an appraisal) · REAL NOW aggregated public offer.