Quick answer: San José, Costa Rica’s capital, is the country’s economic and cultural heart — and the place where its hardest social problems are most visible. Behind the “Pura Vida” tourism image, the city is grappling with record-high national homicide rates, a fast-growing homeless population, open crack-cocaine use, a shifting adult-entertainment scene, and decades of downtown decay. It is neither the paradise of the brochures nor the danger zone of the headlines, but a capital caught between two identities.
Costa Rica sells a dream to the world: pristine beaches, smiling sloths, cloud forests, volcanoes, luxury eco-lodges, and a two-word national philosophy — Pura Vida.
Yet just beyond the tourist brochures lies another Costa Rica, one that most visitors never see and many locals debate openly every day. At the center of that contrast is San José.
The capital is the country’s financial, political, and cultural hub. It is also where Costa Rica’s deepest social problems are most visible. To understand modern Costa Rica, you have to understand San José — not the polished version, but the real one.
A Tale of Two Cities
During daylight hours, San José feels like any bustling Latin American capital. Business executives rush between meetings, university students crowd cafés, government officials move between ministries, and tourists visit museums and historic theaters.
After dark, certain neighborhoods transform, and the contrast can be jarring. Within a few blocks, luxury office towers give way to homeless encampments, drug activity, sex work, and aging buildings that have stood neglected for decades. For years, locals have referred to parts of downtown as “the city nobody talks about.”
Why Is Crime Rising in Costa Rica?
The biggest change in Costa Rica over the past decade has been the growth of narcotrafficking.
Historically, Costa Rica enjoyed a reputation as one of the safest countries in Latin America. It abolished its army in 1948 and reinvested the savings in education and healthcare — a decision still central to the national identity.
But geography eventually caught up with the country. Costa Rica sits directly on the cocaine route between South American producers and North American and European markets, and its long coastlines and limited security forces have made it an attractive transit and storage point for traffickers.
What was once primarily a transit route has increasingly become a battleground for organized crime groups fighting over distribution networks and territory. The result shows up in the homicide statistics. 2023 was the most violent year in Costa Rican history, with about 905 homicides and a rate of 17.2 per 100,000 residents — up from 12.2 in 2022. 2024 followed as the second-deadliest year on record, with roughly 880 killings. Authorities attribute the majority of these deaths to drug trafficking and gang turf wars.
The violence is also concentrated in unexpected places. In 2023, the Caribbean port province of Limón recorded 214 homicides — more than San José — despite having roughly one-third of the population, as trafficking groups fight for access to the ports used to move cocaine north.
Many Costa Ricans now openly discuss something that would have been almost unthinkable twenty years ago: the country has an organized crime problem. Not on the scale of Mexico or Colombia, but large enough to change the national conversation.
The Crack Epidemic Nobody Wants to Discuss
Walk through certain areas of downtown San José and one issue becomes impossible to ignore: crack cocaine.
Locally known as piedra (“stone”), crack has devastated sections of the urban population for years. Entire clusters of homelessness have become intertwined with addiction. Outreach workers describe a cycle of drug dependency, mental illness, poverty, and street living that is extraordinarily difficult to break. Nationally, roughly two-thirds of people living on the streets are dependent on psychoactive substances, according to social-welfare data.
Some residents believe the crisis has been normalized. Others argue the government has never adequately addressed it.
How Many Homeless People Are in San José?
One of the most striking changes in San José over the last decade has been the visible growth of homelessness. Parks, abandoned lots, underpasses, and stretches of downtown now host growing populations of people living rough.
An estimated 7,133 people were living in street conditions across Costa Rica in 2025 — more than half of them in San José. That is up roughly 291% from about 1,825 people in 2015. Researchers point to addiction, mental-health issues, rising housing costs, and broader economic pressures as the main drivers.
Many residents complain that certain neighborhoods feel abandoned. Others argue that law enforcement simply moves people from one location to another without addressing the underlying causes. The result is a constant cycle: complaints, police sweeps, temporary displacement, the return of encampments — and then it repeats.
What Happened to the Hotel Del Rey?
No discussion of San José’s seedy side is complete without the legendary Hotel Del Rey.
For decades, the bright-pink hotel in the heart of the “Gringo Gulch” district was internationally famous as the epicenter of Costa Rica’s adult-entertainment industry. Prostitution has long been legal in Costa Rica for adults, although pimping and trafficking remain illegal, and the Del Rey operated in a unique gray area — part casino, part hotel, part social hub — that drew visitors from around the world.
To many foreign tourists, the Del Rey was synonymous with San José nightlife. To many Costa Ricans, it was synonymous with everything wrong with the city’s international reputation.
Its heyday is over. The property was hit by tax problems, management troubles, and pandemic-era closures, and longtime American owner John “Big John” Emerson died in 2023, marking the end of an era. By 2024 the Del Rey was no longer the epicenter it once was — but its decline did not eliminate the adult industry. It simply dispersed and fragmented it across the city, becoming less visible but harder to track.
Is Prostitution Legal in Costa Rica? Trafficking vs. Sex Work
This is where the conversation becomes complicated.
Adult sex work is legal in Costa Rica for individuals 18 and older; sex workers can register and receive identification and free health exams. Human trafficking is not legal — and the two are not the same thing. Costa Rica’s penal code criminalizes sex and labor trafficking, with penalties ranging from six to sixteen years depending on the victim.
Costa Rica has spent years trying to separate legal adult work from exploitation, launching anti-trafficking initiatives, tourism campaigns, and enforcement efforts. In the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, Costa Rica remained on the “Tier 2” watch tier but was credited with increasing efforts — prosecuting and convicting more alleged traffickers and funding prevention programming for the first time in three years.
Critics argue that enforcement remains inconsistent. Supporters point out that the country has become far more aggressive than it was two decades ago. Both can be true at once.
The Buildings Time Forgot: Downtown Decay
One of San José’s most overlooked problems is urban decay. Drive through downtown and you’ll see beautiful historic architecture alongside vacant upper floors, graffiti-covered façades, abandoned storefronts, and neglected infrastructure.
Many buildings sit partially occupied or entirely empty. Developers complain about bureaucracy, preservation advocates fight to save historic structures, and politicians promise revitalization — but progress comes slowly. The result is a city center that often feels frozen between two eras.
Immigration and Social Pressure
Costa Rica has absorbed significant migration over the past decade, particularly from Nicaragua and other parts of the region. Many migrants contribute enormously to the economy.
At the same time, rapid population growth has placed pressure on housing, healthcare, education, and social services. In public debate, immigration often becomes entangled with discussions about crime, homelessness, and employment — though the reality is usually more complex than either side admits.
Corruption: The Quiet Complaint
Ask enough Costa Ricans about government problems and one word eventually emerges: corruption.
It is not necessarily the spectacular, headline-grabbing corruption seen elsewhere in Latin America. Instead, people point to political patronage, slow-moving bureaucracy, regulatory favoritism, a lack of accountability, and endless studies that lead to limited action. The complaint heard repeatedly is simple: “Everyone knows the problems. Nobody fixes them.”
Is Anything Actually Being Done?
Yes — quite a lot, actually.
Security. The government has increased its focus on organized crime and narcotics trafficking, with police and judicial authorities expanding operations targeting criminal organizations.
Human trafficking. Costa Rica has strengthened anti-trafficking enforcement and public-awareness efforts, particularly in tourism-related sectors, and has increased prosecutions and convictions.
Homelessness. Government agencies and NGOs are expanding shelters, transitional housing, and social-assistance programs, with recent initiatives focused on increasing housing capacity and addressing chronic homelessness.
Downtown revitalization. City leaders continue pushing redevelopment projects, pedestrian zones, public-space improvements, and private-investment incentives aimed at bringing residents back into the center. Progress is uneven, but many believe revitalization is happening block by block.
Or Is It Being Ignored?
That depends on whom you ask.
Critics say enforcement is reactive, addiction treatment remains inadequate, homelessness keeps growing, criminal organizations are evolving faster than institutions, and revitalization is too slow.
Supporters counter that these problems exist in nearly every modern city, that Costa Rica remains safer than many of its neighbors, that the government is now confronting issues that were once hidden, and that the country’s economic and social indicators remain comparatively strong.
Both sides have valid points.
The Real Story
The real story of San José is not that it is dangerous. Nor is it that it is paradise. The real story is that San José is a city caught between two identities.
One is the Costa Rica sold to the world: peaceful, green, safe, and prosperous. The other is a modern capital grappling with drug trafficking, homelessness, inequality, migration pressures, and urban decay — the unintended consequences of becoming one of the most successful countries in Latin America.
Most tourists never see that side. But for those who live here, invest here, or walk the streets of downtown every day, it is impossible to ignore. And the battle over which version of San José defines the future of Costa Rica is still being fought.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is San José, Costa Rica, safe for tourists?
San José is generally safe for visitors who take normal urban precautions, but petty theft, pickpocketing, and certain high-risk neighborhoods after dark are real concerns. Costa Rica’s homicides are heavily concentrated among groups involved in the drug trade rather than tourists, but visitors should avoid downtown red-light areas at night and stay alert.
Why are homicides rising in Costa Rica?
Most of Costa Rica’s record homicides are tied to drug trafficking and turf wars between organized crime groups competing over cocaine routes and ports. 2023 was the deadliest year in the country’s history (about 905 killings), and 2024 was the second deadliest (about 880).
How many homeless people live in San José?
About 7,133 people were living in street conditions across Costa Rica in 2025, with more than half concentrated in San José. The national figure has risen roughly 291% since 2015, and about two-thirds of those affected struggle with substance dependence.
Is prostitution legal in Costa Rica?
Yes. Sex work is legal in Costa Rica for adults 18 and older, and workers can register for ID cards and health services. However, pimping, brothels, and human trafficking are illegal, and trafficking carries prison sentences of six to sixteen years.
What happened to the Hotel Del Rey?
The Hotel Del Rey, long the bright-pink centerpiece of San José’s adult-entertainment scene, lost its dominance after tax problems, management issues, and pandemic-era closures. Its longtime owner died in 2023, and by 2024, it was no longer the epicenter it had been for decades.
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