Boca del Río is located immediately to the south of the port of Veracruz, at . It stands where the Río Jamapa empties into the Gulf of Mexico – hence the Spanish-language name, which means river mouth.
The municipality covers a total area of 42.77 km² and, in the year 2000 census, reported a population of 135,804. In addition to the city of Veracruz, it also borders on the municipalities of Alvarado to the south and Medellín to the west.
In 1988, Boca del Río was granted city status.