Safety in Costa Rica 2026: What the Numbers Say and What Foreigners Actually Face

COSTA RICA · EXPAT GUIDE

Killings are running below last year, yet August was the worst month of 2026. The risks a foreigner is most likely to meet are burglary, fraud and the sea.

Costa Rica ended 2025 with 873 killings, its third worst year on record. The judicial police, the country’s Organismo de Investigación Judicial, put the rate at 16.7 for every 100,000 people.

This year the count is lower. The judicial police recorded 541 killings to 1 September 2026, against 592 at the same point in 2025.

That is a fall of 51 cases, or 8.6 percent. The national count reached 600 on 23 September 2026.

The improvement has narrowed since mid-year. August closed as the most violent month of 2026, with 86 killings against 67 in August 2025.

Michael Soto, then the acting head of the judicial police, spoke about the outlook in May 2026. He said the agency expected the year to close below 800.

Who Is Being Killed, and Why

Score-settling and revenge account for 343 of the 541 killings to 1 September 2026. Another 102 cases have no established motive.

Firearms were used in 423 of those cases. That is about four in every five.

The 2025 pattern was the same. Score-settling or revenge explained 603 of the 873 killings, ahead of arguments and fights at 101.

Of the 2025 victims, 787 were men and 85 were women. The largest age band was 18 to 39, with 589 cases.

Eighty-five people were killed as bystanders in 2025. Investigators point to young, inexperienced gunmen who miss their targets.

Bystander deaths have fallen this year. The judicial police counted 20 by early July 2026, against 46 a year earlier.

Where It Happens

Three provinces carried 68 percent of the 2025 total. San José had 293 killings, Limón 172 and Puntarenas 130.

The top of the table looks the same this year. By 23 September 2026, San José had 165 killings and Limón 150.

Cartago is the clear change. In the year to 24 August 2026 it rose from 38 killings to 50, the largest increase of any province.

Puntarenas rose from 76 to 84 over that period, and Limón from 118 to 120. The other four provinces fell.

Soto links the coastal increases to groups reorganising after arrests. Operation Riverside, in June 2026, detained the leaders of a Limón gang.

In Cartago the judicial police describe a territorial fight between local drug groups. Cartago was for years one of the calmest provinces.

Agents collected 92 ballistic traces from an AR-15 rifle at a double killing in Paraíso de Cartago. That attack came on the night of 17 August 2026.

Two people driving past in another car were wounded. The use of high-calibre weapons is one of the things that has alarmed the judicial police.

What This Means for Foreigners

Foreigners are rarely the target of that fight. They are targeted for a different set of crimes.

The United States embassy in San José said so in a country-wide security alert on 25 November 2025. It covered property crime, financial crime and robbery.

It reported gangs targeting foreign-owned businesses and homes for robbery, break-ins and extortion. It also reported foreigners forced to withdraw large sums at cash machines.

Some were made to order bank transfers. Tourists reported break-ins and armed robberies at holiday rentals.

The embassy advised researching a rental before booking. It also advised avoiding listings whose reviews mention security incidents.

The Crime You Will Probably Meet

The judicial police logged 112,494 criminal complaints in 2025. That was 1,099 fewer than in 2024.

Fraud led the list, with 33,153 complaints and a rise of 8.9 percent. The agency puts that at one case every sixteen minutes.

Theft came second with 13,126 complaints, one every 40 minutes. Street robbery followed with 7,923, one every hour and six minutes.

House burglary fell 16.84 percent, to 3,818 complaints. Alajuela recorded the most, with 839.

Across 2025 and early 2026 the judicial police logged 7,543 house robbery and theft complaints. That is roughly one every hour and a half.

Most are opportunistic rather than organised. Officers point to unlocked doors, forced latches and misplaced trust in hired help.

Vehicle break-ins are the one category still rising. Complaints rose 17.82 percent to 3,749 in 2025, and reached 1,288 by April 2026.

Pamela Fonseca, who heads a unit in the judicial police robbery section, lists four methods. They are theft from open cars, broken windows, forced locks and signal jammers.

A jammer blocks the key fob so the car never locks. Check the door by hand every time.

The United States travel advisory of 2 April 2026 gives the same warning. Thieves often use signal blockers to stop key fobs working.

The canton of San José records the most vehicle break-ins. In Puntarenas the worst canton is Garabito, which covers Jacó.

Which Places Are Riskier

Canada updated its advice on 9 September 2026 and asks for a high degree of caution. It names the Coca-Cola bus terminal area and inner downtown San José for theft.

On the Pacific it names Dominical, Jacó, Manuel Antonio national park, Quepos and the Cóbano area. On the Caribbean it names Cahuita, Puerto Limón and Puerto Viejo.

For violent assaults on travellers it singles out Puerto Limón and Puerto Viejo. Britain warns that gang shootings have reached some places popular with visitors.

Small coastal districts can look worse than cities once the count is divided by population. A study by the Universidad Nacional, a public university, recorded 11 killings in Nosara in 2024.

Esteban Barboza, who coordinates the university observatory behind it, put Nosara’s rate at twelve and a half times the extreme-violence threshold. He linked most of the killings to the local drug market.

Roads, Water and Volcanoes

Roads kill more people here than criminals do. Costa Rica recorded 903 traffic deaths in 2025, against 873 killings.

That wider figure counts people who died later of their injuries. The Consejo de Seguridad Vial, the road safety council, counted 572 deaths at the scene.

Motorcyclists were 263 of those 2025 deaths. The toll to the end of August 2026 was 425, of whom 247 were motorcyclists.

That is 58 percent, and excess speed was involved in 146 of the deaths. The figures come from the public works and transport ministry.

Britain’s Foreign Office says drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death here. Rip currents are very common and lifeguards are often absent.

The same advice warns of crocodiles near Pacific surf beaches, with attacks in recent years. It also warns that gangs have used methanol in cheap local spirits.

Rincón de la Vieja volcano has erupted repeatedly since July 2026. The National Emergency Commission declared a preventive green alert on 2 September 2026.

It covers Dos Ríos and Aguas Claras in Upala, and Mayorga, Cañas Dulces and Curubandé in Liberia. Residents are told to keep away from rivers that may carry volcanic material.

Practical Rules

Report crimes to the judicial police, which investigates, rather than to the uniformed force. Emergencies go through 911.

The United States embassy advises verifying anyone who approaches you as an official. Ask for identification, and if in doubt go to the nearest judicial police office.

Canada advises against stopping to change a flat tyre in an isolated area. Britain warns that criminals sometimes cause deliberate collisions in order to rob.

Check what your insurance excludes before you need it. Surfing, zip-lining, quad biking and rock climbing often sit outside standard travel cover.

On 9 September 2026 President Laura Fernández ordered police to rotate between provinces every three months. She said two days later that she had misspoken.

Gerald Campos, the security minister, said the transfers apply to police directors and deputy directors. They also apply to officers under investigation for corruption.

More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Costa Rica getting safer in 2026?

The judicial police counted 541 killings by 1 September 2026, against 592 a year earlier. August was still the most violent month of the year.

Are foreigners targeted?

Rarely for murder, often for property. The United States embassy warned on 25 November 2025 that gangs target foreign-owned homes and force victims to withdraw cash.

What is the biggest real risk?

The roads and the water. Costa Rica recorded 903 traffic deaths in 2025, more than the 873 homicides recorded that year.

Which areas should I avoid?

Canada names inner downtown San José, Dominical, Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Quepos, Cahuita, Puerto Limón and Puerto Viejo for theft.

Where do I report a crime?

To the judicial police, which investigates, rather than to the uniformed force. Emergencies go through 911.

Sources: Organismo de Investigación Judicial, Poder Judicial, Consejo de Seguridad Vial, MOPT, Comisión Nacional de Emergencias, OVSICORI, Observatorio de Turismo, Migraciones y Sustentabilidad de la Región Chorotega de la Universidad Nacional, US Embassy San José, US State Department, Global Affairs Canada, UK Foreign Office.