| Cortés Department | |
| Native Name: | Departamento de Cortés |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Department |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Honduras |
| Coordinates: | 15.5028°N -88.0136°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Honduras |
| Subdivision Type1: | Municipalities |
| Subdivision Name1: | 12 |
| Subdivision Type2: | Villages |
| Subdivision Name2: | 284 |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 4 July 1893 |
| Seat Type: | Capital city |
| Seat: | San Pedro Sula |
| Government Type: | Departmental |
| Leader Party: | LIBRE |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Alexa Dinorah Solorzano (2022–2026) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 3911 |
| Elevation Max M: | 2242 |
| Elevation Min M: | 0 |
| Population As Of: | 2015 |
| Population Total: | 1621762 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank1: | Ladino, Garifuna |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Population Blank2: | Catholicism, Evangelicalism |
| Demographics Type1: | GDP (Nominal, 2015 US dollar) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics1 Info1: | $6.6 billion (2023)[1] |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics1 Info2: | $3,200 (2023) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info2: | $13.8 billion (2023) |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info3: | $6,700 (2023) |
| Timezone1: | CDT |
| Utc Offset1: | -6 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | San Pedro Sula: 21101, 21102, 21103, 21104, Puerto Cortés 21301 |
| Iso Code: | HN-CR |
| Blank Name Sec1: | HDI (2021) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0.663[2] · 2nd of 18 |
| Footnotes: | Statistics derived from Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013[3] |
Cortés is one of the 18 departments of Honduras. The department covers an area of 3,954 km2 and, in 2015, had an estimated population of 1,612,762, making it the most populous in Honduras. The Merendón Mountains rise in western Cortés, but the department is mostly a tropical lowland, the Sula Valley, crossed by the Ulúa and Chamelecon rivers.
It was created in 1893 from parts of the departments of Santa Bárbara and Yoro. The departmental capital is San Pedro Sula. Main cities also include Choloma, La Lima, Villanueva, and the sea ports of Puerto Cortés and Omoa. The Atlantic coast of the Department of Cortés is known for its many excellent beaches.
Cortés is the economic heartland of Honduras, as the Sula Valley is the country's main agricultural and industrial region. US banana companies arrived in the area in the late 19th century, and established vast plantations, as well as infrastructure to ship the fruit to the United States. San Pedro Sula attracted substantial numbers of European, Central American, and Palestinian and Lebanese immigrants. Industry flourishes in the department, and Cortés today hosts most of the country's assembly plants, known as maquilas.