Costa Rica / Central America
Cartago is an indexed city in Costa Rica (Central America), with a metropolitan population of about ~23K. This profile brings together deterministic city-intelligence indicators for Cartago spanning cost of living, climate, safety and quality of life, economy and jobs, education, and healthcare. Cartago is a central america city of about ~23K in Costa Rica. On the composite city-intelligence score, Cartago sits below the indexed median, with practical gaps to close (69/100).
Image credit: Image: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Composite profile
69/100
Use the Cartago profile to compare affordability, livability, and economic indicators against other indexed cities in Costa Rica and across Central America, and to explore nearby nature and weekend destinations.
69/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 69/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 61/100 | Cartago's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Air Quality | 75/100 | Cartago's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated. |
| Energy | 69/100 | Cartago's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context. |
| Safety | 66/100 | Cartago's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available. |
| Internet Speed | 69/100 | Cartago's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references. |
| Climate Risk | 62/100 | Cartago's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Resilience | 62/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Cartago is estimated to be a generally safe city (70/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Cartago has a high quality-of-life estimate (73/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, green space and cleanliness.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Cartago scores high for family living (75/100), helped by education access, parks and green space and healthcare.
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Cartago is high for remote workers (69/100), based on connectivity, affordability and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Cartago is high for retirement (71/100), appealing for healthcare access, affordability and a clean environment.
Local public safety guidance for Cartago, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Cartago, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the Costa Rica emergency profile, which currently lists no verified national contacts.
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare context for Cartago, with national-level information from Costa Rica where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Cartago, see the Costa Rica healthcare profile, which currently lists no verified national healthcare information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Local mobility context for Cartago, with national-level context from Costa Rica where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Cartago, see the Costa Rica transport profile, which currently lists no verified national transport information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Cartago. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Source-attributed values for Cartago will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Cartago drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — strong quality of life (73/100), with nearby nature such as Turrialba, Central Valley.
Strong (75/100) on safety, schools and green space.
Around average cost; about ₡490,000/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jul, coldest in Jan.
Mainly tourism, hospitality, manufacturing.
A tropical climate, averaging about 26.3°C.
Higher education is good (55/100).
Healthcare access is good (55/100).
Retirement suitability is good (60/100).
Within ~170 km: Turrialba, Central Valley.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Cartago's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
Cartago's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated.
Cartago's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Cartago's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Cartago's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Cartago's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living estimates for Cartago — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate profile for Cartago — Tropical climate, annual average 26.3°C, comfort score 52/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs profile for Cartago — tourism economy, economy score 60/100, key industries including tourism, hospitality, manufacturing. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Education profile for Cartago — mixed education base, education score 50/100, 3 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement profile for Cartago — mixed healthcare profile, healthcare score 55/100, retirement score 60/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Source-attributed visual context for Cartago using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Weekend trip planning checklist for Cartago — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Cartago using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Cartago using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Cartago. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Nearby city · about 19 km from Cartago. Explore San José's city intelligence profile.
Nearby city · about 26 km from Cartago. Explore Heredia's city intelligence profile.
Nearby city · about 36 km from Cartago. Explore Alajuela's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 93 km from Cartago. Explore Limón's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 101 km from Cartago. Explore Puntarenas's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 228 km from Cartago. Explore David's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 378 km from Cartago. Explore Santiago de Veraguas's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 444 km from Cartago. Explore Colón City's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 467 km from Cartago. Explore La Chorrera's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 491 km from Cartago. Explore Panama City's city intelligence profile.
Regional discovery collections that include Cartago — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Weekend escapes · 28 places across 5 cities.
Theme-first discovery collections that include Cartago — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Weekend Nature Retreats · 39 places across 5 cities.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Cartago, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Cartago has a high quality-of-life estimate (73/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, green space and cleanliness. Visitors can also reach nature such as Turrialba, Central Valley and Lake Cachí within weekend range.
Cartago has a high quality-of-life estimate (73/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, green space and cleanliness. It indexes 73/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Cartago spends roughly ₡490,000 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near ₡260,000. Overall the city is around average cost for Costa Rica. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for around-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Cartago is high for remote workers (69/100), based on connectivity, affordability and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Cartago's labour market is moderate, with opportunities concentrated in tourism and hospitality, technology and education and research. Cartago has a tourism-driven economy with strengths in tourism, hospitality and manufacturing.
Cartago offers solid infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 67/100.
Cartago is a developing education base with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Economics, Social Sciences and Engineering.
Cartago offers a moderate student environment, supported by relatively affordable living and strong quality of life.
Cartago has a mixed healthcare profile, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 55/100. Residents have solid access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Cartago offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 60/100. Residents benefit from parks and green space, walkable streets and broad urban amenities and day-to-day services.
Cartago has a tropical climate, averaging about 26.3°C annually with roughly 2498 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jul and the coldest Jan. The driest is typically Feb.
Cartago is estimated to be a generally safe city (70/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
Cartago indexes a walkability score of 68 and a cycling score of 59 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Cartago include Turrialba, Central Valley and Lake Cachí. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Cartago scores high for family living (75/100), helped by education access, parks and green space and healthcare.
Cartago rates 50/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 95/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as Turrialba, Central Valley and Lake Cachí supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
Use the Cartago profile to compare affordability, livability, and economic indicators against other indexed cities in Costa Rica and across Central America, and to explore nearby nature and weekend destinations. Its standout dimensions are air quality (75/100) and energy (69/100). The area most worth watching is cost of living (61/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.
Country context is available on the Costa Rica country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Cartago appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.