The city, founded in 1888, lies at an elevation of 1,017 meters above sea level in the Central Valley (Valle Central), 6 kilometers southeast of the city of San Ramón, 38 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital city of Alajuela, and 56 kilometers from the national capital city of San Jose.
Palmares is the capital of the canton of the same name in southern Alajuela. With a population of around 31,000 (2013) Palmares is the second-largest city in the province of Alajuela