The largest cities of Mexico: urban units, municipalities and metro areas
Mexico counted three ways: by continuous built-up area, by municipality and by metro area. 145 urban units pass 100,000 people; the largest is Iztapalapa, with 1,835,486. The city of Mexico City has 12,294,193 people within its limits; its metro area, 19,258,098.
How Mexico counts its cities
INEGI, Mexico’s statistics office, publishes localidades at each census. In Mexico City, each borough (alcaldía) is a locality of its own, so the largest single unit is Iztapalapa. Counted as a metro area, Mexico City has more than 19 million people.
The 25 largest urban units
Source: INEGI, localidades, 2020 census.
| # | Urban unit | People | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iztapalapa | 1,835,486 | 113 |
| 2 | Tijuana | 1,810,645 | 291 |
| 3 | Ecatepec de Morelos | 1,643,623 | 130 |
| 4 | León de los Aldama | 1,579,803 | 218 |
| 5 | Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza | 1,542,232 | 206 |
| 6 | Juárez | 1,501,551 | 354 |
| 7 | Guadalajara | 1,385,621 | 142 |
| 8 | Zapopan | 1,257,547 | 191 |
| 9 | Gustavo A. Madero | 1,173,351 | 88 |
| 10 | Monterrey | 1,142,952 | 219 |
| 11 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | 1,072,676 | 52 |
| 12 | Chihuahua | 925,762 | 281 |
| 13 | Mérida | 921,771 | 237 |
| 14 | Cancún | 888,797 | 143 |
| 15 | Saltillo | 864,431 | 195 |
| 16 | Aguascalientes | 863,893 | 122 |
| 17 | Hermosillo | 855,563 | 200 |
| 18 | Mexicali | 854,186 | 199 |
| 19 | San Luis Potosí | 845,941 | 163 |
| 20 | Culiacán Rosales | 808,416 | 137 |
| 21 | Santiago de Querétaro | 794,789 | 120 |
| 22 | Naucalpan de Juárez | 776,220 | 76 |
| 23 | Álvaro Obregón | 759,003 | 70 |
| 24 | Morelia | 743,275 | 124 |
| 25 | Chimalhuacán | 703,215 | 49 |
The 10 largest municipalities and metro areas
| # | Municipality | People | Metro area | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | 12,294,193 | Mexico City | 19,258,098 |
| 2 | Tijuana | 1,922,523 | Zapopan | 4,707,297 |
| 3 | Iztapalapa | 1,835,486 | Monterrey | 4,240,111 |
| 4 | Puebla | 1,692,181 | Puebla | 3,265,596 |
| 5 | Ecatepec de Morelos | 1,645,352 | Toluca | 2,659,193 |
| 6 | Santiago de Querétaro | 1,594,212 | Tijuana | 1,738,194 |
| 7 | León de los Aldama | 1,579,803 | Torreón | 1,623,400 |
| 8 | Ciudad Juárez | 1,512,450 | León de los Aldama | 1,502,369 |
| 9 | Zapopan | 1,476,491 | Ciudad Juárez | 1,259,247 |
| 10 | Guadalajara | 1,385,629 | Santiago de Querétaro | 1,200,879 |
Municipalities: GeoNames, latest census or estimate. Metro areas: GHSL functional urban areas. Metro areas are named after their main municipality, which is not always the best-known name of the area.
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