[1] Cartago is a T-shaped canton stretching southeast from its capital city to encompass a thin swatch of the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca Mountain Range), and including portions of the Pan-American Highway.

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton.

[5] As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the Let's Act Now Party (Partido Actuemos Ya) candidate, Mario Redondo Poveda, was elected mayor of the canton with 43.51% of the votes, with Silvia María Navarro Gómez and Marco Andrés Brenes Tinoco as first and second vice mayors, respectively.

[5] The current president of the Municipal Council is the Let's Act Now Party member, Alonso Picado Chacón.

[12][13] In 2022, Cartago had a Human Development Index of 0.791, the 3rd highest in its province, behind El Guarco and La Unión, and 18th in the country.