How the scale works. Each measure is placed on a fixed 0–5 scale tied to world reference points, not to other cantons. For homicide, 2 per 100k ≈ Europe (2.2), 5 ≈ the world average (5.8) and the US (5.7), 10 = the WHO's "epidemic" threshold, 20 and 40 are the higher steps. Robbery and break-in use Spain 2024 as the "pretty safe" reference (130 robberies and 237 break-ins per 100k). Bands: under 1 Safe, 1–2 Pretty safe, 2–3 Moderate, 3–4 Caution advised, 4+ Not safe.
Combined index = 60% homicide + 30% robbery + 10% break-in, but never more than one band below the worst of homicide and robbery. A high homicide rate cannot be averaged away by low theft. Costa Rica as a whole scores 3.0 (Caution advised), close to the US State Department's "exercise increased caution" rating.
Crime data: OIJ police statistics, open-data incident files for 2024 and 2025 (Poder Judicial), with Census 2022 population. The file has more homicide records than OIJ's official victim counts (996 vs 873 in 2025; 1,013 vs 880 in 2024), so homicide rates are scaled down to the official totals. Robbery and break-in comparisons with Spain are rough: fewer crimes get reported in Costa Rica, which flatters its numbers.
Small cantons swing. One homicide a year in a canton of 20,000 is 5 per 100k. Most homicides are gang score-settling (709 of 996 records in 2025), concentrated in a few districts; the hover card names them.
Boundaries: geoBoundaries 2020. Monteverde (a canton since 2021) is counted inside Puntarenas, and Puerto Jiménez inside Golfito, because the census figures still combine them.
Wonders: the 1–3 star rating is a judgement from general traveller consensus (guidebook top picks, review-site rankings), on an absolute scale. Drive times come from OSM routing (Valhalla; OSRM for Corcovado), measured from Plaza de la Cultura with no traffic. Leaving San José at rush hour adds 30–60 min.
Towns: urban localities of ≥ 8,000 people (2022), plus the seat of every canton of ≥ 30,000. Labels thin out when zoomed out.