Montes de Oca is a canton in the San José province of Costa Rica. The head city of the canton is San Pedro.

Toponymy

Its name honors a former congressional representative from the area, Don Faustino Montes de Oca (1859–1902).

History

Montes de Oca was created on 1 August 1915 by decree 45.

Government

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton. As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) candidate, Domingo Arguello García, was elected mayor of the canton with 25.56% of the votes, with Haydee Castillo Castro and Andrés Vesalio Guzmán Gómez as first and second vice mayors, respectively.

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Montes de Oca's Municipal Council has 7 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor (regidor propietario) is absent. The current president of the Municipal Council is National Liberation Party regidor Enrique Sibaja Granados, with Social Christian Unity Party regidora Jeiny Lizano Vargas as vice-president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Geography

Montes de Oca has an area of 15.78 km2 and a mean elevation of 1262 m. The elongated canton reaches from the suburbs of the national capital of San José eastward to the province of Cartago, and neighbors the cantons of Curridabat, San José, Cartago, and Goicoechea. The Torres River delineate a portion of the northern boundary, while the Ocloro River and Poró Creek mark the southern boundary.

Districts

The canton of Montes de Oca is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

Montes de Oca had an estimated 53,862 inhabitants in 2022, up from 49,132 at the time of the 2011 census. The canton is known for its high level of commercial development, the number of universities and other centers of higher education, and its active night life. It is one of the most urbanized and vibrant cantons in the San José area, both day and night. In 2022, Montes de Oca ranked fourth highest in the Costa Rican cantonal Human Development Index, with a score of 0.857.

Education

Montes de Oca is known in Costa Rica as the Cradle of Higher Education as it is home to the University of Costa Rica as well as other university-level centers of study, such as the Universidad Latina and the Universidad Americana (UAM) Escuela Laboratorio. The canton can boast of 99% literacy, compared with 95% in Costa Rica at large.

Points of interest

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNP 2.svg National Route 2 • CR RNP 39.svg National Route 39 • CR RNS 201.svg National Route 201 • CR RNS 202.svg National Route 202 • CR RNS 203.svg National Route 203 • CR RNT 306.svg National Route 306

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.