City in Costa Rica
Santa Ana
Santa Ana is a canton west of San José with 58,020 residents in the 2022 estimate. A law-firm guide describes a significant international community, and UWC Costa Rica's current campus is there, though it is moving to San Isidro de Heredia. [N1] [E1] [Santa Ana S1]
- Country
- Costa Rica
- Region
- San José
- Population
- 58,020 in 2022. Santa Ana canton (INEC 2022 population estimate). [N1]
- Settings
- In a small town [N1]
- Weather
- Warm all year [Santa Ana W1]
Why it is here
Why Santa Ana is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- A law firm's guide says Escazú and Santa Ana both host a significant international community, including a large number of expatriates (it groups the two and gives no separate figure for Santa Ana). [E1]
- UWC Costa Rica, which teaches a bilingual IB Diploma Programme, says its current campus is in Santa Ana; it is moving to a new campus in San Isidro de Heredia. A private directory also lists Franz Liszt Schule and St. Jude School with Santa Ana addresses. [Santa Ana S1] [S2]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
55 of 100MixedCountry figure
Price level 0.591 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
16 of 100WeakCountry figure
The Heredia and San José area, the main city: 3 comfortable months a year (January, November and December), measured at Tobías Bolaños airport in San José.
Source: Climate normals 1991–2020, Tobías Bolaños Palma Airport, Pavas, San José (WMO 78764). Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 62nd of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
79 of 100StrongCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 84 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Mixed: a residence route for remote workers exists (the digital nomad stay), but fixed broadband is 23.29 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: pensioners (a pension of at least US$1,000 a month) and people living on income (at least US$2,500 a month) are temporary residents, and three consecutive years of temporary residence allow an application for permanent residence. Later changes by Law 9996 were not checked.
Source: Ley General de Migración y Extranjería No. 8764, articles 78, 79, 81 and 82. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
52 of 100MixedCountry figure
23.29 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
44 of 100MixedCountry figure
EF EPI score 516, between the 499 and 550 anchors. The page does not print its edition year.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index: Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to US passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, Canada passport
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to Canadian passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, Australia passport
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to Australian passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, New Zealand passport
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to New Zealand passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
The country
More on Costa Rica.
Questions about Santa Ana.
How many people live in Santa Ana, Costa Rica?
Santa Ana canton, west of San José, had 58,020 residents in the 2022 estimate. That is the canton, not the wider urban area, and a figure for the town alone is not known.
Do expats live in Santa Ana?
A law-firm guide says Escazú and Santa Ana both host a significant international community, including a large number of expatriates. It groups the two and gives no separate figure for Santa Ana, so how many expats live there is not known.
Are there international schools in Santa Ana?
UWC Costa Rica, which teaches a bilingual two-year IB Diploma Programme, says its current campus is in Santa Ana and that it is moving to a new campus in San Isidro, Heredia. A private directory also lists Franz Liszt Schule and St. Jude School with Santa Ana addresses. Check each school's programmes and fees.
Is Santa Ana safe?
Canada's government advises a high degree of caution across Costa Rica and names San José province, where Santa Ana is, among those most affected by violent crime. It adds that burglars sometimes target rental accommodation and homes owned by foreigners. We found no figure for Santa Ana alone.
What does it cost to rent in Santa Ana?
We have no rent for Santa Ana. Elsewhere in the Central Valley on 10 October 2026, Heredia one-bedroom adverts asked CRC 210,000 to 400,000 a month and one Escazú condominium asked US$1,300. These are single asking rents, not averages, and Santa Ana's may differ.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] Estimación de población y vivienda 2022: Resultados generales, table 6.1, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC). Checked 15 October 2026. Santa Ana canton: 58,020 residents in the 2022 estimate (the canton, not the wider urban area).
- [E1] The top places for expats to live in Costa Rica, CostaRicaLaw.com (private law firm guide, not official). Checked 15 October 2026. Published 4 January 2024 by the firm; opinion and description, no headcount.
- [Santa Ana S1] What makes UWC Costa Rica unique?, UWC Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026. Says "Our current campus in Santa Ana offers direct engagement with local communities", that the school is transitioning to a new campus in San Isidro, Heredia, and that it offers a two-year bilingual IB Diploma Programme. No student numbers given.
- [Santa Ana W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Tobías Bolaños Palma Airport, Pavas, San José (WMO 78764), Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020 via NOAA NCEI). Checked 15 October 2026. The nearest of the four stations in the published national set, in the same central valley; used here only for the weather type, not as Santa Ana's own normals. Coolest month's average daily high 28.9 °C.
- [S2] International schools in Costa Rica, International School Search (private directory, not official). Checked 15 October 2026. Lists UWC Costa Rica, Franz Liszt Schule and St. Jude School with Santa Ana addresses; most entries give no curriculum.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Costa Rica, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 59.06 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [Costa Rica W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Tobías Bolaños Palma Airport, Pavas, San José (WMO 78764), Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020 via NOAA NCEI). Checked 15 October 2026. The Heredia and San José area, the main city for Costa Rica's climate grade. Monthly mean daily highs 28.9 to 31.5 °C; rain 10.7 mm (January), 135.1 mm (November) and 25.4 mm (December); 3 comfortable months (January, November, December).
- [Costa Rica S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Costa Rica ranks 62nd of 163 countries (score 1.860).
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Costa Rica: 84 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa, Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), visitcostarica.com. Checked 15 October 2026. No publication date shown. Stable net income of at least US$3,000 a month (US$5,000 for families); a stay of one year with the option to renew for a further year; health insurance of at least US$50,000; US$100 payment. The page names no nationality restriction. The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería site (migracion.go.cr) refused automated access, so the official procedure was not read there.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Costa Rica, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 23.29 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [R1] Ley General de Migración y Extranjería No. 8764, articles 78, 79, 81 and 82, Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (copy published by ICODER). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 78: permanent residence for those who held temporary residence for three consecutive years. Article 79: temporary residence for up to two years, renewable, includes rentistas and pensionados. Article 81: pension of at least US$1,000 a month. Article 82: income of at least US$2,500 a month. Later changes by Law 9996 were not checked.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index: Costa Rica, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 516, global rank 55, 18 points below the previous score. The page does not print its edition year; it is the live country page read on 15 October 2026.
- [V1] Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure), Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 29 August 2025, re-read on 15 October 2026; DGME's live page (migracion.go.cr) returns 403 to automated readers, so it was not compared with the capture. States a minimum pay from abroad of US$3,000 a month (US$4,000 with dependants), no nationality restriction and no Costa Rican job offer, and renewal after 180 days in the country. Applies to US, CA, AU and NZ passports alike.
- [V2] General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025), Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, published in La Gaceta (Alcance 148, 17 November 2025); Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 27 September 2026, re-read on 15 October 2026. Australia, Canada, the United States and New Zealand are in the first group: no entry visa, a stay of up to 180 days.