List of most populous cities in Mexico by decade
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This list tracks and ranks the population of the top 10 largest cities and other urban places in Mexico by decade, as reported by each Mexican Population Census, starting with the 1900 Census.
This list generally refers only to the population of individual localities within their defined limits at the time of the indicated census. Some of these places have since been annexed or merged into other cities, while others may have expanded their borders due to such consolidation. One example is the 1928 integration of several municipalities into Mexico City.[1]
1900
There is no information at locality level from the first population census, completed in 1895. At that time, Mexico City was already the most populated city in the country, even if it only covered what is now the Cuauhtémoc borough.
| Rank | City | State | Population[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 344,721 | First city in Mexico to reach 100,000. Mexico City has ranked as the city with the highest population in every census count. |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 101,208 | Highest ranking. Second city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 3 | Puebla | Puebla | 93,521 | Highest ranking. |
| 4 | León | Guanajuato | 63,263 | Highest ranking. |
| 5 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 62,266 | |
| 6 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 61,019 | |
| 7 | Mérida | Yucatán | 43,630 | |
| 8 | Guanajuato | Guanajuato | 41,486 | Only appearance in the Top 10. |
| 9 | Pachuca | Hidalgo | 37,487 | Only appearance in the Top 10. |
| 10 | Morelia | Michoacán | 37,278 |
The total population of these 10 cities was 885,879.
1910
| Rank | City | State | Population[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 471,066 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 119,468 | |
| 3 | Puebla | Puebla | 96,121 | |
| 4 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 78,528 | |
| 5 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 68,022 | Highest ranking. |
| 6 | Mérida | Yucatán | 62,447 | |
| 7 | León | Guanajuato | 57,722 | |
| 8 | Veracruz | Veracruz | 48,683 | First appearance in the Top 10. |
| 9 | Aguascalientes | Aguascalientes | 45,198 | First appearance in the Top 10. Would disappear from the Top 10 in the next census. |
| 10 | Morelia | Michoacán | 40,042 | Last appearance in the Top 10. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 1,087,297.
1921
Because of the Mexican Revolution, the 1920 census was postponed a year.
| Rank | City | State | Population[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 615,367 | First city in Mexico to reach 500,000. |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 143,376 | |
| 3 | Puebla | Puebla | 95,535 | |
| 4 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 88,479 | |
| 5 | Mérida | Yucatán | 79,225 | Highest ranking. |
| 6 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 57,353 | |
| 7 | Tacubaya | Distrito Federal | 54,775 | Only appearance in the Top 10. Merged with Mexico City in 1928. |
| 8 | Veracruz | Veracruz | 54,225 | Highest ranking. |
| 9 | León | Guanajuato | 53,639 | |
| 10 | Torreón | Coahuila | 50,902 | First appearance in the Top 10. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 1,292,876.
1930
| Rank | City | State | Population[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 1,029,068 | First city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 179,556 | |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 132,577 | Highest ranking. Third city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 114,793 | Fourth city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 5 | Mérida | Yucatán | 95,015 | |
| 6 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 74,003 | |
| 7 | León | Guanajuato | 69,403 | |
| 8 | Tampico | Tamaulipas | 68,126 | First appearance in the Top 10. |
| 9 | Veracruz | Veracruz | 67,801 | Would disappear from the Top 10 in the next census. |
| 10 | Torreón | Coahuila | 66,001 |
The total population of these 10 cities was 1,896,343.
1940
| Rank | City | State | Population[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 1,448,422 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 229,235 | |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 186,092 | |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 138,491 | |
| 5 | Mérida | Yucatán | 98,852 | |
| 6 | Tampico | Tamaulipas | 82,475 | Highest ranking. Last appearance in the Top 10. |
| 7 | Aguascalientes | Aguascalientes | 82,234 | Highest ranking. Last appearance in the Top 10. |
| 8 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 77,161 | |
| 9 | Torreón | Coahuila | 75,796 | |
| 10 | León | Guanajuato | 74,155 |
The total population of these 10 cities was 2,492,913.
1950
| Rank | City | State | Population[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 2,234,795 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 377,016 | |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 333,422 | |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 211,331 | |
| 5 | Mérida | Yucatán | 142,858 | Fifth city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 6 | Torreón | Coahuila | 128,971 | Highest ranking. Sixth city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 7 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 125,662 | Seventh city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 8 | León | Guanajuato | 122,726 | Eighth city in Mexico to reach 100,000. |
| 9 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 122,566 | Ninth city in Mexico to reach 100,000. First appearance in the Top 10. First border city in the list. |
| 10 | Veracruz | Veracruz | 101,221 | Tenth city in Mexico to reach 100,000. Last appearance in the Top 10. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 3,900,568.
1960
| Rank | City | State | Population[6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 2,832,133 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 736,800 | Second city in Mexico to reach 500,000. |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 596,939 | Third city in Mexico to reach 500,000. |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 289,049 | |
| 5 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 262,119 | |
| 6 | León | Guanajuato | 209,870 | |
| 7 | Torreón | Coahuila | 179,901 | Highest ranking. Last appearance in the Top 10. |
| 8 | Mexicali | Baja California | 174,540 | Highest ranking. First appearance in the Top 10. Second border city in the list. |
| 9 | Mérida | Yucatán | 170,834 | Last appearance in the Top 10. |
| 10 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | 159,980 | Last appearance in the Top 10. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 5,612,165.
1970
| Rank | City | State | Population[7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 2,902,969 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 1,193,601 | Second city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 858,107 | |
| 4 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | State of Mexico | 580,436 | Fourth city in Mexico to reach 500,000. First appearance in the Top 10. First suburb from Greater Mexico City in the list. |
| 5 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 424,135 | |
| 6 | Puebla | Puebla | 401,603 | |
| 7 | León | Guanajuato | 364,990 | |
| 8 | Tijuana | Baja California | 277,306 | First appearance in the Top 10. Third border city in the list. Would disappear from the Top 10 in the next 3 census. |
| 9 | Mexicali | Baja California | 263,498 | Last appearance in the Top 10. |
| 10 | Chihuahua | Chihuahua | 257,027 | Only appearance in the Top 10. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 7,523,672.
1980
| Rank | City | State | Population[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 8,831,079 | All 16 boroughs of Distrito Federal consolidated into Mexico City after the 1970 census.[1] |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 1,626,152 | |
| 3 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | State of Mexico | 1,341,230 | Third city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. Highest position. First city other than Monterrey or Puebla reaching # 3. Population peaked in this census. |
| 4 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 1,084,696 | Fourth city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 5 | Tlalnepantla | State of Mexico | 778,173 | Fifth city in Mexico to reach 500,000. First appearance in the Top 10. Second suburb from Greater Mexico City in the list. Population peaked in this census. |
| 6 | Puebla | Puebla | 772,908 | |
| 7 | Ecatepec | State of Mexico | 741,821 | Sixth city in Mexico to reach 500,000. First appearance in the Top 10. Third suburb from Greater Mexico City in the list. |
| 8 | Naucalpan | State of Mexico | 723,723 | Seventh city in Mexico to reach 500,000. First appearance in the Top 10. Fourth suburb from Greater Mexico City in the list. |
| 9 | León | Guanajuato | 593,002 | Eighth city in Mexico to reach 500,000. |
| 10 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 544,496 | Ninth city in Mexico to reach 500,000. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 17,037,280.
1990
| Rank | City | State | Population[9] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 8,235,744 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 1,650,042 | Population peaked in this census. |
| 3 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | State of Mexico | 1,255,456 | |
| 4 | Ecatepec | State of Mexico | 1,218,135 | Fifth city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 5 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 1,068,996 | |
| 6 | Puebla | Puebla | 1,007,170 | Sixth city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 7 | Naucalpan | State of Mexico | 845,960 | Highest ranking. |
| 8 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 789,522 | |
| 9 | León | Guanajuato | 758,279 | |
| 10 | Tlalnepantla | State of Mexico | 702,270 | Last appearance in the Top 10. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 17,531,574.
2000
| Rank | City | State | Population[10] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 8,605,239 | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 1,646,183 | |
| 3 | Ecatepec | State of Mexico | 1,621,827 | |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 1,271,673 | |
| 5 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | State of Mexico | 1,225,083 | |
| 6 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 1,187,275 | Sixth city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 7 | Tijuana | Baja California | 1,148,681 | Seventh city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 8 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 1,110,909 | First time outside the Top 5. |
| 9 | León | Guanajuato | 1,020,818 | Eighth city in Mexico to reach 1,000,000. |
| 10 | Naucalpan | State of Mexico | 943,004 | Last appearance in the Top 10. Population peaked in this census. |
The total population of these 10 cities was 19,780,692.
2010
| Rank | City | State | Population[11] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Distrito Federal | 8,851,080 | |
| 2 | Ecatepec | State of Mexico | 1,655,015 | First city other than Guadalajara reaching # 2. Population peaked in this census. |
| 3 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 1,495,182 | |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 1,434,062 | |
| 5 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 1,321,004 | Highest ranking. |
| 6 | Tijuana | Baja California | 1,300,983 | |
| 7 | León | Guanajuato | 1,238,962 | |
| 8 | Zapopan | Jalisco | 1,142,483 | First appearance in the Top 10. First suburb of Greater Guadalajara in the list. |
| 9 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 1,135,512 | |
| 10 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | State of Mexico | 1,104,585 |
The total population of these 10 cities was 20,678,868.
2020
| Rank | City | State | Population[12] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | Mexico City | 9,209,944 | |
| 2 | Tijuana | Baja California | 1,810,645 | Highest ranking. |
| 3 | Ecatepec | State of Mexico | 1,643,623 | |
| 4 | León | Guanajuato | 1,579,803 | |
| 5 | Puebla | Puebla | 1,542,232 | |
| 6 | Ciudad Juárez | Chihuahua | 1,501,551 | |
| 7 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 1,385,629 | First time outside the Top 5. |
| 8 | Zapopan | Jalisco | 1,257,547 | |
| 9 | Monterrey | Nuevo León | 1,142,952 | |
| 10 | Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl | State of Mexico | 1,072,676 |
The total population of these 10 cities was 22,146,602.