# Heredia (canton)

Heredia is a canton in the Heredia province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Heredia district, and is also the provincial capital of Heredia Province.

## History

Heredia was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.

## Geography

Heredia has an area of 283.11 km$^2$ (109.31 sq mi) and a mean elevation of 1,242 m (4,075 ft).
The canton includes the areas south and west of the capital city of Heredia as far as the Virilla River and the National Route 1.
The non-contiguous district of Varablanca, that includes a large portion of Braulio Carrillo National Park high in the Cordillera Central, is also administered as part of Heredia Canton.

## 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 National Liberation Party candidate, Ángela Ileana Aguilar Vargas, was elected mayor of the canton with 31.58% of the votes, with Víctor Andrés Sánchez González and Kenneth Armando Arguedas Navarro as first and second vice mayors, respectively.
Mayors of Heredia since the 2002 elections :
| Period | Name | Party |
| 2002–2006 | Javiel Carvajal Molina | PUSC |
| 2006–2010 | José Manuel Ulate Avendaño | PLN |
| 2010–2016 | José Manuel Ulate Avendaño | PLN |
| 2016–2020 | José Manuel Ulate Avendaño | PLN |
| 2020–2024 | José Manuel Ulate Avendaño | PLN |
| 2024–2028 | Ángela Ileana Aguilar Vargas | PLN |

### Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Heredia's Municipal Council has 9 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 the Sentir Heredia regidor, José Pablo Quesada Castro, with National Liberation Party member, Heidy Hernández Benavides, as vice president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:
Current composition of the Municipal Council of Heredia after the 2024 municipal elections :
| Political parties in the Municipal Council of Heredia ||||||
| Political party | Political party | Political party | Regidores | Regidores | Regidores |
| Political party | Political party | Political party | № | Owner | Substitute |
| | National Liberation Party (PLN) | | 3 | Lilliana Jiménez Barrientos | Maritza Sandoval Vega |
| | National Liberation Party (PLN) | | 3 | Luis Alfonso Araya Villalobos | Alfredo Eduardo Prendas Jiménez |
| | National Liberation Party (PLN) | | 3 | Heidy Hernández Benavides$^{(VP)}$ | Odette Fernández Salazar |
| | Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) | | 3 | Marlon Antonio Obando Juárez | Jean Carlos Barboza Roman |
| | Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) | | 3 | Roxana Mayela Arias Ramírez | Maribel Quesada Fonseca |
| | Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) | | 3 | Luis Alberto Williams Ovares | Freddy Cervantes Paniagua |
| | Social Democratic Progress Party (PSD) | | 1 | Jorge Eduardo Blanco Chan | Manrique Ortíz Paniagua |
| | Broad Front (FA) | | 1 | José Daniel Berrocal Miranda | Fidel Barrera Romero |
| | Feel Heredia (SH) | | 1 | José Pablo Quesada Castro$^{(P)}$ | Esteban Felipe Venegas Murillo |

## Districts

The canton of Heredia is subdivided into the following districts:
* Heredia
* Mercedes
* San Francisco
* Ulloa
* Varablanca

## Demographics

In 2022, the National Institute of Statistics and Census estimated Heredia's population at 131,901, up from 123,616 at the time of the 2011 census.
According to a publication by the United Nations Development Programme, Heredia had a Human Development Index of 0.816 in 2022, ranking it 4th in its province and 9th in the entire country.

## Transportation
### Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:
* National Route 1
* National Route 3
* National Route 5
* National Route 103
* National Route 106
* National Route 111
* National Route 112
* National Route 113
* National Route 120
* National Route 126
* National Route 171

### Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.