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Mexico’s northern region hosts some of the most thriving, and thus most competitive, cities in the nation to live and work, according to the 2024 Urban Competitiveness Index published by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO).
The Mexican NGO publishes the rankings annually.
This year, Saltillo, Coahuila; Hermosillo, Sonora; La Paz, Baja California Sur; and Guaymas, Sonora – all located in the north of Mexico – won the overall top spot for competitiveness in 2024 in one of IMCO’s four city-size categories.
The size categories range from cities with 1 million residents to cities with populations of under 250,000.
The four top cities excelled in a long list of competitiveness indicators that included, among other things, innovation, education offerings, patent registration, economic diversification, growth dynamism, and the size of their mortgage market.
Sonora was the only state with two cities in top spots.
Every year, IMCO conducts the Urban Competitiveness Index (ICU) to assess the performance of and challenges faced by cities in Mexico.
The ICU evaluates 66 cities, which in total are home to over 62% of Mexico’s population. IMCO uses 35 indicators grouped into six sub-indices.
Here’s a look at which cities won and why:
Cities with over 1 million residents: Saltillo, Coahuila
Saltillo beat out 20 cities in its size category, including the nation’s capital, Mexico City.
Saltillo’s number one ranking is attributed to its low incidence of homicides and vehicle theft, its booming labor market and its having one of the highest rates of perceived security among residents.
Key areas for improvement that IMCO cited for Saltillo included its low number of health personnel (it ranked No. 56 in this criteria out of all 66 cities competing), its wastewater treatment capacity, and its extent of educational coverage.
Runners-up just behind Saltillo were Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.
Cities with over 500,000 residents: Hermosillo, Sonora
Hermosillo ranked at the top of its category thanks to its solid labor market and its number of research centers relative to the size of the city’s economically active population.
IMCO also found Hermosillo to have the lowest percentage of households relying on water from external sources, such as water tanker trucks.
Key areas of opportunity for Hermosillo IMCO cited included increasing the construction of vertical housing and more sustainable water consumption.
Cities with between 250,000 and 500,000 residents: La Paz, Baja California Sur
La Paz won its size category in part due to having one of the highest monthly salaries for full-time employees and the highest number of research centers relative to the size of its economically active population. It also ranked high on rates of perceived security among residents and rates of hotel occupancy.
However, La Paz still faces challenges, namely electricity generation costs and infant mortality: in both these categories, La Paz ranked No. 65 out of the 66 competing cities.
Cities with less than 250,000 residents: Guaymas, Sonora
The other Sonora municipality that topped its category, the port city of Guaymas won the top spot thanks to its number of research centers and its superior educational coverage for residents under 15, IMCO said. It also featured the smallest gender income gap.
Guaymas’ areas of opportunity, according to IMCO, included lowering its homicide rate and reducing the number of transport-related accidents in the city.
Mexico News Daily