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Most walkable cities in Costa Rica
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
San José, Costa Rica is the only city in Costa Rica ranked so far, with a walkability score of 79 out of 100: very walkable: most errands can be done on foot.
| # | City | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José, Costa Rica | 79 |
Rankings include cities of at least 300,000 people where open map data is complete enough to score fairly. Each score is the average across the 5 km around the city's busiest point, so it measures how far walkability reaches beyond downtown. See the methodology, or compare cities worldwide.
How Costa Rica compares
Costa Rica's one ranked city, San José, Costa Rica, scores 79, against an average of 66 across all 690 cities ranked worldwide.
From the city's centre, libraries and bookshops are nearer than is usual: the nearest is 4 minutes away on foot, against 6 minutes for the median city ranked. Groceries are further, at 9 minutes, against 5 minutes.
Questions about walkable cities in Costa Rica
What is the most walkable city in Costa Rica?
San José, Costa Rica is the only city in Costa Rica ranked so far, with a walkability score of 79 out of 100, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot.
Why are some cities in Costa Rica not listed?
Only cities of at least 300,000 people are ranked so far, and only where open map data lists at least 500 places near the centre, so smaller cities are left out even when they are very walkable. Any address can still be scored on the map.
How are the city scores calculated?
Each city's score is the average of points spaced 1 km apart across the 5 km around its busiest point, so it measures how far walkability reaches beyond downtown. At each point, the score counts the groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and deducts up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long.
Ask about walking anywhere in ChatGPT with the How Walkable app, for example "What are the most walkable cities in Costa Rica?"