RS · South
Population: 282,397 (IBGE estimate 2026)
Machine translation of the Portuguese Wikipedia article (November 2026 version).
Santa Maria is a Brazilian municipality in Rio Grande do Sul. With 282,395 inhabitants in 2025, according to an estimate by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), it is considered a medium-sized city of great influence in the Central Region of the state. It is the fifth most populous city in Rio Grande do Sul and, on its own, the largest in its region. Under IBGE's new geographic division, Santa Maria is a hub city of its Intermediate and Immediate Regions.
Located in a region with an original indigenous population, the history of the city goes back to a camp established in 1797 by a Portuguese and Spanish commission tasked with delimiting the territory of both empires; the city was officially founded on April 6, 1876. The region also contains important paleontological sites.
Santa Maria is considered a university city, thanks to the Federal University of Santa Maria, created by José Mariano da Rocha Filho, and to the Franciscan University, elevated from university center status on March 28, 2018.
In the early hours of January 27, 2013, Santa Maria became known worldwide because of the fire that occurred in a nightclub in the city, the Kiss nightclub. On that occasion, 242 people, most of them young, died of asphyxiation from smoke or were trampled, since there was no emergency exit at the location.
Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Read the full article on Wikipedia (in Portuguese)
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Well-known places within 50 km of the city center, closest first. Source: Wikidata (public domain).
0 to 100, compared with Brazilian municipalities of 100,000+ residents (rent: compared among the 36 cities with rent data).
RS average (19 cities): 82 · All 338 cities: 76
Intentional violent deaths per 100k (police records)
12.75 per 100k residents
Source: Ministério da Justiça – Sinesp VDE (ocorrências por município) · Reference: 2025 · License: Open data
Personal safety (SPI)
52.63 score 0–100
Source: Índice de Progresso Social Brasil · Reference: SPI Brazil 2026 (2024 data) · License: CC BY 4.0 (report)
Rent data (FipeZAP) covers 36 cities. Here the cost topic counts as average (50) in the score.
RS average (19 cities): 41 · All 338 cities: 34
Formal jobs per 1,000 residents
248.89 per 1,000 residents
Source: IBGE – Cadastro Central de Empresas (Cempre) · Reference: 2024 · License: Open data
Average monthly wage of formal jobs (BRL)
4,125.18 BRL/month
Source: IBGE – Cadastro Central de Empresas (Cempre) · Reference: 2024 · License: Open data
RS average (19 cities): 37 · All 338 cities: 34
Hospital beds per 1,000
3.6 per 1,000 residents
Source: CNES / DATASUS (TabNet) · Reference: Sep 2026 · License: Public data
Doctors per 1,000
4.37 per 1,000 residents
Source: CNES / DATASUS (TabNet) · Reference: Sep 2026 · License: Public data
RS average (19 cities): 48 · All 338 cities: 54
Ideb – late grades (9th grade), public schools
5.2 score 0–10
Source: INEP – Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (Ideb) · Reference: 2025 · License: Open data
Ideb – early grades (5th grade), public schools
5.9 score 0–10
Source: INEP – Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (Ideb) · Reference: 2025 · License: Open data
RS average (19 cities): 67 · All 338 cities: 65
Fixed broadband per 100 homes
38.08 per 100 households
Source: Anatel – Acessos de Banda Larga Fixa · Reference: Aug 2026 · License: Open data
Home connections at 100 Mbps or faster (%)
98.51 %
Source: Anatel – Acessos de Banda Larga Fixa · Reference: Aug 2026 · License: Open data
RS average (19 cities): 63 · All 338 cities: 60
Distance to intl. airport (km)
256.23 km
Source: ANAC – Voo Regular Ativo e Aeródromos · Reference: Sep 2025–Aug 2026 · License: Open data
International departures within 100 km
0 departures in 12 months
Source: ANAC – Voo Regular Ativo e Aeródromos · Reference: Sep 2025–Aug 2026 · License: Open data
Nearest international airport
Salgado Filho (SBPA), 256 km in a straight line · 1,449 international departures in 12 months
score 0–100 · Source: Índice de Progresso Social Brasil · Reference: SPI Brazil 2026 (2024 data) · License: CC BY 4.0 (report)
Mild Average temperature: 20.2 °C (Average temperature below 22 °C (72 °F))
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. high (°C) | 31.0 | 30.2 | 29.1 | 26.0 | 22.0 | 19.8 | 19.2 | 21.8 | 22.5 | 25.3 | 28.0 | 30.4 |
| Avg. low (°C) | 20.1 | 19.7 | 18.3 | 15.2 | 12.1 | 10.4 | 9.4 | 10.8 | 12.3 | 15.0 | 16.5 | 18.7 |
| Rain (mm) | 166 | 132 | 142 | 151 | 137 | 133 | 147 | 114 | 155 | 203 | 136 | 162 |
Weather station Santa Maria, 9 km away · climate normals 1991-2020 · Source: INMET Normais Climatológicas · License: Public data
Up to 150 km in a straight line. Scores use your weights.
Topic scores closest to those of Santa Maria. Scores use your weights.
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