Santa Rosa was initially known for the Coca-Cola, RC Cola, and Toyota manufacturing plants in its industrial estates.

It later became popular as the site of local theme park Enchanted Kingdom and several housing and commercial developments.

Later on, the town's local revolutionaries fought alongside the forces of Pío del Pilar during the Philippine–American War.

[clarification needed] During the postwar era up until the 1970s, the townspeople primarily depended on basic agriculture and family-owned enterprises for their livelihood.

The influence of industrialization grew in the 1980s with the entry of local and foreign investors who were responsible for the fast-paced economic and social transformation of the town and the province.

Santa Rosa's land area is approximately 54.13 square kilometers (20.90 sq mi).

The population of Santa Rosa is fast-growing with an intercensal growth rate of 7% from 1990 to 1995, exponentially increasing in subsequent decades (except between the 2007 and 2010 censuses).

Throughout the centuries, there has been constant migration of Spaniards, Visayans, Bikolanos, Ilokanos, Chinese, Americans, Japanese, and Koreans.

In addition, due to continuous development of the city, English is used in education, business and information technology.

It is also the location for the headquarters of Santarosa Motor Works, Inc. Food conglomerate Monde Nissin Corporation, which manufactures Lucky Me!

San Miguel Brewery and Magnolia also have a plant in barangay Pulong Santa Cruz.

In 2018, Santa Rosa became the new home of HAMBURG Trading Corporation's 7,000-square-meter (75,000 sq ft) facility that houses the company's warehouse, administration office, and state-of-the-art demo kitchen – all in one roof.

ranked 82nd in the world for its competitiveness in the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing services (IT-BPO) by the leading strategic advisory firm, THOLONS.

Several higher education institutions headquartered outside the city have established branch or satellite campuses in Santa Rosa.

Public transportation within the city, like in most of the urban areas in the Philippines, is facilitated mostly using inexpensive jeepneys.

The city is also the location of the Santa Rosa Commercial Complex, a well-known intermodal transport and commercial hub in barangay Balibago, and the Santa Rosa Integrated Terminal, a provincial bus station at SM City Santa Rosa in barangay Tagapo serving Metro Manila and eventually other parts south of Metro Manila.

Point-to-point (P2P) bus terminals are also located at Nuvali Transport Terminal in barangay Santo Domingo for buses bound for Makati and Bonifacio Global City, respectively, and in front of Robinsons Santa Rosa in barangay Tagapo for buses bound for Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Santa Rosa's communication system is powered by Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) and Globe Telecom, and the cellular network in the Philippines, particularly in metropolitan areas, is increasing due to the low cost of calls and text messaging.

Globe Telecom, Smart Communications (PLDT), and Dito Telecommunity provide cellular networks in Santa Rosa.