Santa Apolonia is well known for its handicrafts, particularly its earthenware pottery, although this tradition has been in decline for the past few decades.

The typical indigenous blouse, or hüipil, of the town is a simple white cotton cloth with partial multichromatic embroidery patterns (pink, green, yellow, etc.).

[2] Officially, 81% of its population is of Maya origin although Census figures pertaining to ethnicity are highly contested.

The region is prone to frosts during the winter months and has also been affected by heavy rainfall from tropical storms and hurricanes, including Mitch in 1998 and Stan in 2006.

Commercially, snow peas are produced for export to markets in North America and Europe.