| Rank | Urban Area | State |
Population (000s) |
||
| 1950 | 1970 | 1990 | |||
| 1 | Mexico City | Federal District/Mexico | 3,167 | 8,624 | 14,685 |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 440 | 1,456 | 2,870 |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo Leon | 375 | 1,177 | 2,574 |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla/Tlaxcala | 235 | 533 | 1,420 |
| 5 | Leon | Guanajuato | 157 | 420 | 868 |
| 6 | Toluca | Mexico | 115 | 239 | 820 |
| 7 | Cd. Juárez | Chihuahua | 131 | 424 | 798 |
| 8 | Torreón | Coahuila/Durango | 260 | 438 | 792 |
| 9 | Tijuana | Baja California | 65 | 341 | 747 |
| 10 | Merida-Progreso | Yucatan | 159 | 242 | 665 |
| National population | 25,791 | 50,417 | 81,250 | ||
| 1985 | 1988 | Average annual growth (%) | |
| Border states | 859,434 | 1,105,217 | 8.4 |
| Mexico City | 1,764,101 | 1,715,050 | - 0.9 |
| National | 5,716,065 | 6,235,537 | 2.9 |
| National minus border states | 4,856,631 | 5,130,320 | 1.8 |