The US is obsessed with its states. As evidence, each one gets an entire star on the national flag. Not to mention that people outside the US refer to the country simply as The States. It turns out, however, that other countries have states too—in fact, the official name of the one to the south is actually the United Mexican States! As such, here’s the table you’ve been looking for, the one that’ll make you an expert in something that probably doesn’t require your expertise.
Before Getting Started
These tidbits will help the table below make more sense.
- Mexico has 31 states and one federal district, namely the capital of Mexico City.
- The overall population of Mexico is around 130 million, good for 10th in the world. (Note: The 2020 numbers shown below—taken from Wikipedia—don’t quite add up to 130 million.)
- The population of the Mexico City metropolitan area (as opposed to the city proper) is about 22 million.
- Yes, there is a state called México, and it happens to be the most populated state in the country.
And, of course, a map.
The Mexican States
| State (or District) | 2020 Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aguascalientes | 1,425,607 | |
| Baja California | 3,769,020 | Think Tijuana. |
| Baja California Sur | 798,447 | Think Cabo San Lucas. |
| Campeche | 928,363 | |
| Chiapas | 5,543,828 | |
| Chihuahua | 3,741,869 | Largest state by area. The dog breed was first noted here and takes its name from the state. Home to Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso. |
| Ciudad de México (Mexico City) | 9,209,944 | Highest GDP among all states/districts. |
| Coahuila | 3,146,771 | Known for coal. |
| Colima | 731,391 | |
| Durango | 1,832,650 | |
| Guanajuato | 6,166,934 | |
| Guerrero | 3,540,685 | Home to Acapulco, the tourist capital turned murder capital. |
| Hidalgo | 3,082,841 | |
| Jalisco | 8,348,151 | Home of Tequila (the city and beverage), Guadalajara (the country's third-largest metro area), Puerto Vallarta, and Mariachi music. |
| México | 16,992,418 | Home to the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán (predate the Aztecs). |
| Michoacán | 4,748,846 | Largest producer of avocados in the world. |
| Morelos | 1,971,520 | |
| Nayarit | 1,235,456 | |
| Nuevo León | 5,784,442 | Home to Monterrey, the country's second-largest metro area. |
| Oaxaca | 4,132,148 | |
| Puebla | 6,583,278 | Think Battle of Puebla (1862), as in the one in which the French were defeated, celebrated today as Cinco de Mayo. |
| Querétaro | 2,368,467 | |
| Quintana Roo | 1,857,985 | Home to Cancún. |
| San Luis Potosí | 2,822,255 | |
| Sinaloa | 3,026,943 | Mexico's "breadbasket" and unofficial tomato capital. |
| Sonora | 2,944,840 | |
| Tabasco | 2,402,598 | The type of peppers used in Tabasco sauce are named for this state, though the ones used in the product come from Louisiana. |
| Tamaulipas | 3,527,735 | |
| Tlaxcala | 1,342,977 | Smallest state by area (excluding Mexico City). |
| Veracruz | 8,062,579 | |
| Yucatán | 2,320,898 | |
| Zacatecas | 1,622,138 | Rich in minerals and thus a center for mining. |
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