Municipalities of Nuevo León

Map of Mexico with Nuevo León highlighted

Nuevo León is a state in Northeast Mexico that is divided into 51 municipalities.

Municipalities in Nuevo León are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico. Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: presidente municipal) by a plurality voting system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (ayuntamiento) responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of a variable number of trustees and councillors (regidores y síndicos). Municipalities are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, supervision of slaughterhouses and the maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries. They may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks. Since 1984, they have had the power to collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own income.

The most populous one is Monterrey, which also serves as the capital of the state. Outside the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (which consists of Apodaca, Escobedo, Guadalupe, San Nicolás de los Garza, San Pedro Garza García and Santa Catarina) the municipalities tend to be scarcely populated. Aside from Cadereyta Jiménez, Juárez, Linares and Montemorelos, no other municipality surpasses 50,000 inhabitants. The largest municipality by area is Galeana. One of the smallest ones, Hualahuises, is an enclave of Linares.

Municipalities

Map of the administrative divisions of Nuevo León.

INEGI-code	Municipality	Administrative seat
001	Abasolo	Abasolo
002	Agualeguas	Agualeguas
003	Allende	Allende
004	Anáhuac	Anáhuac
005	Apodaca	Apodaca
006	Aramberri	Aramberri
007	Bustamante	Bustamante
008	Cadereyta Jiménez	Cadereyta Jiménez
009	El Carmen	El Carmen
010	Cerralvo	Cerralvo
011	China	China
012	Ciénega de Flores	Ciénega de Flores
014	Doctor Arroyo	Doctor Arroyo
013	Doctor Coss	Doctor Coss
015	Doctor González	Doctor González
016	Galeana	Galeana
017	García	García
018	General Bravo	General Bravo
019	General Escobedo	General Escobedo
020	General Terán	General Terán
021	General Treviño	General Treviño
022	General Zaragoza	General Zaragoza
023	General Zuazua	General Zuazua
024	Guadalupe	Guadalupe
025	Hidalgo	Hidalgo
026	Higueras	Higueras
027	Hualahuises	Hualahuises
028	Iturbide	Iturbide
029	Juárez	Juárez
030	Lampazos de Naranjo	Lampazos de Naranjo
031	Linares	Linares
032	Los Aldama	Los Aldamas
033	Los Herrera	Los Herreras
034	Los Ramones	Los Ramones
035	Marín	Marín
036	Melchor Ocampo	Melchor Ocampo
037	Mier y Noriega	Mier y Noriega
038	Mina	Mina
039	Montemorelos	Montemorelos
040	Monterrey	Monterrey
041	Parás	Parás
042	Pesquería	Pesquería
043	Rayones	Rayones
044	Sabinas Hidalgo	Sabinas Hidalgo
045	Salinas Victoria	Salinas Victoria
046	San Nicolás de los Garza	San Nicolás de los Garza
047	San Pedro Garza García	San Pedro Garza García
048	Santa Catarina	Santa Catarina
049	Santiago	Santiago
050	Vallecillo	Vallecillo
051	Villaldama	Villaldama

List of municipalities with additional information

INEGI code	Municipality	Municipal seat	Formed	Origin and older names	Etymology	Population	Area	Density	Map
001	Abasolo	Abasolo	1826	Founded as the Hacienda of Eguía de Viudas in 1648, renamed as Abasolo in 1826	Mariano Abasolo (1780–1819) a Mexican revolutionist during the War of Independence	2,746	44	5.22
002	Agualeguas	Agualeguas	1793	Founded by Friar Diego Vázquez as a Spanish mission named Santa Teresa de Alamillo, in 1675 changed its name to San Nicolás Gualeguas Mission, then it was renamed Agualeguas in 1793	Its current name comes from the now extinct Gualeguas, a Native American nomadic tribe, which scarcely inhabited this area before the Spanish settlement	3,537	1,034	5.55
003	Allende	Allende	1850	Previously known as Rancho del Reparo (Bucking Ranch) formed in 1825	Ignacio Allende (January 21, 1769–June 26, 1811) a captain of the Spanish Army who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement	29,568	186	177
004	Anáhuac	Anáhuac	1933	Merged on May 5, 1933, it is the youngest municipality of the state, prior to 1933, most of its area was part of the Lampazos and Vallecillo municipalities in Nuevo León, the rest was bought by the governor of Nuevo León, Bernardo Reyes from the Juárez municipality in the state of Coahuila in order to expand Nuevo León's border with Texas and to compete with the bordering Mexican states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas in the import-export market	It is named after the region which comprises the "Valle de México" or "Meseta de Anáhuac"	17,983	4,303	4.20
005	Apodaca	Apodaca	1871	Founded by the Portuguese settler Gaspar Castaño de Sosa as the Hacienda of San Francisco in 1585	Salvador de Apodaca, a former bishop of the city of Linares, Nuevo León	418,784	250	1675
006	Aramberri	Aramberri	1877	Founded as the Santa María de los Angeles de Río Blanco Mission by the Spanish friar Lorenzo Cantú in 1648, later known as Villa de Río Blanco from 1660 to 1877	José Silvestre Aramberri, a general from this municipality who fought in the War of Reform	14,692	2,809	5.38
007	Bustamante	Bustamante	1832	Prior to 1832, was known as San Miguel de Aguayo, founded in 1686	Anastasio Bustamante, a president of Mexico, who was during its presidency when Bustamante was renamed	3,326	558	5.92
008	Cadereyta Jiménez	Cadereyta Jiménez	1825	Founded as Villa de Cadereyta in 1637, later known as Villa de San Juan Bautista de Cadereyta (1692)	In honor of the marquis of Cadereyta, Spain Lope Díez de Armendáriz, marqués de Cadereyta, also viceroy of the New Spain. Mariano Jiménez, precursor of the independence in Nuevo León	73,746	1,153	62.16
009	El Carmen	El Carmen	1852	Founded in 1614 by Bernabé de las Casas as Hacienda de Chipinque, which was part of the administrative area of Valle de las Salinas, created as a municipality in 1852	El Carmen, in honor of Nuestra señora del Carmén, (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)	6,996	101	37.33
010	Cerralvo	Cerralvo	1626	The Villa of San Gregorio de Cerralvo, the oldest municipality of the state as it was the first Spanish settlement in Nuevo León which took place in 1582 in what is now Cerralvo. It was the first capital of the state	In honor of the marquis of Cerralvo, Spain and fifteenth Viceroy of New Spain Rodrigo Pacheco y Osorio, marqués de Cerralvo, (1565–1652),	9,343	880	8.6
011	China	China	1812	It was formed in 1719 as a ranch named San Felipe de Jesús of China, renamed simply as China in 1812, prior to 1868 included the Rancho El Toro (Bull's ranch) and Rancho del Zacate (Grass Ranch) which are now General Bravo and Doctor Coss municipalities	Saint Philip of Jesus, (1572–1597), a Mexican Catholic missionary in China and Japan, who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan	10,697	4,092	2.92
012	Ciénega de Flores	Ciénega de Flores	1863	Formed as the Hacienda of Ciénega de Flores, prior to 1634, the area was part of the Valle del Carrizal	Cienega, a Spanish word for "boggy", and Flores, the surname of an early rancher of the area	14,268	171	42.94
013	Doctor Arroyo	Doctor Arroyo	1828	Previously known as Valle de la Purísima Concepción	Dr. José Francisco Arroyo, a doctor, theologist, and the first delegate of the Nuevo León's state congress	33,269	5,420	7.24
014	Doctor Coss	Doctor Coss	1882	Formed in 1740 as the Rancho del Zacate. prior to 1882, the area was part of what is now China, Nuevo León	Dr. José María Coss, a distinguished member of the insurgent Congress	1,639	712	2.92
015	Doctor González	Doctor González	1883	Prior to 1883, the area was known as Hacienda de Ramos which was part of the Valle de las Salinas	Dr. José Eleuterio González, a doctor, philanthropist, writer and governor of Nuevo León in 1870	3,092	628	4.53
016	Galeana	Galeana	1678	Founded as San Pablo de Labradores Mission, and later known as The Valle of San Pablo de Galeana	Hermenegildo Galeana, a soldier of the insurgent army during the Mexican War of independence	38,930	7,154	5.52
017	García	García	1851	Founded as Pesquería Grande in 1583	Joaquín García, governor of Nuevo León (1829–1833) and (1837–1839)	51,658	913	33
018	General Bravo	General Bravo	1863	Formed as Rancho del Toro in 1790, Prior to 1863, the area was part of what is now China, Nuevo León municipality	Nicolás Bravo Rueda, a Mexican president and general	5,385	1,999	2.79
019	General Escobedo	General Escobedo	1868	Prior to 1868, was known in 1624 as Hacienda of Topo de los Ayala	Mariano Escobedo (1826–1902), a New Leonese army general, and governor of Nuevo León (1865 and 1866)	299,364	207	513.86
020	General Terán	General Terán	1851	The area was part of Valle de la Mota which was founded in 1746	Manuel Mier y Terán, a general of the Mexican war of independence	14,022	2,477	6.27
021	General Treviño	General Treviño	1868	Formed as Rancho del Puntiagudo (Sharp's Ranch) in 1688	Jerónimo Treviño, a general who participated in the War of reform and against the French intervention in Mexico	1,476	356	4.33
022	General Zaragoza	General Zaragoza	1866	Founded in 1626 as San José de Río Blanco Mission by Friar Lorenzo Cantú, then in 1660 became part of what is now Aramberri, Nuevo León until 1866	Ignacio Zaragoza, a Texan general of the Mexican army during the Battle of Puebla	5,733	1,289	5.03
023	General Zuazua	General Zuazua	1863	Founded as the Hacienda of Santa Helena in 1660	Juan Zuazua (1821–1860), a New Leonese general of the War of Reform and the Mexican–American War	6,985	194	48.5
024	Guadalupe	Guadalupe	1825	Founded in 1714 as a Spanish mission named Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Mission	Its name comes from the name of the early Spanish mission in the area, (Our lady of Guadalupe Mission), in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe	691,931	118	4,429
025	Hidalgo	Hidalgo	1828	Founded by the Spanish Canarian settler Bernabé de las casas as Hacienda de En medio (1611), renamed as El pueblito, and later San Nicolás Hidalgo	Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), the priest who raised the call for Mexico's independence from Spain	11,668	109	53
026	Higueras	Higueras	1863	Founded in 1714 as Santa Teresa de las Higueras by the Spanish settler Diego González	Higueras, the Spanish word for the Common fig tree, which is abundant throughout the area	1,427	669	2.28
027	Hualahuises	Hualahuises	1715	Founded in 1646 as the Mission of San Cristóbal de los Hualahuises by the Spanish settler Martín de Zavala, but it was almost unpopulated until 1715, in 1908 the area around the municipality was annexed into the Linares municipality, thus making it an enclave of that municipality	Hualahuises, a Native American tribe which inhabited the area before the Spanish settlement in 1646	6,631	165	26.4
028	Iturbide	Iturbide	1850	Prior to 1850 was known as Hacienda de los San Pedros	Agustin de Iturbide (September 27, 1783–July 19, 1824), One of the national liberators of the Mexico's independence from Spain, and the first emperor of Mexico from 1822 to 1823	3,533	700	4.84
029	Juárez	Juárez	1868	Founded in 1604 as Hacienda de San José	Don Benito Juárez García, a former president of Mexico	144,380	275	100.84
030	Lampazos de Naranjo	Lampazos de Naranjo	1877	Founded as the Mission of Nuestra señora de la Punta de Lampazos by Friar Diego de Salazar in 1698, created as municipality in 1877	Lampazos was named in honor of the plant that grows in this area Xanthosoma Robustum, the Naranjo part was named in honor to the New Leonese general Francisco Naranjo who was from this municipality	5,305	4,020	1.32
031	Linares	Linares	1712	Previously known as San Felipe de Linares, founded in 1712	Its name honours Fernando de Alencastre, a viceroy and duke of Linares, Spain	71,061	2,322	25.8
032	Los Aldamas	Los Aldamas	1820	Founded as a Mission, later named Villa de Hoyos, renamed Santa María de los Aldamas and finally created as municipality and renamed as Los Aldamas in 1820	In honour of the brothers, Juan and Ignacio Aldamas, initiators of the independence of Mexico along with Miguel Hidalgo	1,675	645	5
033	Los Herreras	Los Herreras	1874	Formed as Rancho de la Manteca around 1760, created as a municipality in 1870	In honor of the New Leonese brothers, José Martín Herrera and the colonel Rafael Herrera, who participated in the Battle of San Bernabé	2,795	550	7.68
034	Los Ramones	Los Ramones	1912	Prior to 1847 the area was part of the Cerralvo municipality and the area was known as Rancho del Capadero, later annexed to the Cadereyta municipality and was known as Valle de San José de los Ramones, and was created as a separate municipality until 1912	In honor of the brothers Juan Ignacio Ramón and Buenaventura Ramón, notable precursors of the Mexican independence movement	6,538	1,156	5
035	Marín	Marín	1804	Formed in 1684 as a ranch named Rancho de San Antonio de los Martinez, renamed as Villa de San Carlos de Marín in 1804 and subsequently known as Marin	Primo Feliciano Marín de Porras, a bishop of the New kingdom of León and honor chaplain of the Spain's king	4,719	157	26
036	Melchor Ocampo	Melchor Ocampo	1924	Formed as a ranch named Charco Redondo in 1702	Melchor Ocampo, Foreign Secretary during the War of Reform	1,052	262	7
037	Mier y Noriega	Mier y Noriega	1849	Founded around 1715 by Spanish settlers as Hacienda de San Antonio de Medina	Friar Servando Teresa de Mier, (October 18, 1765–December 3, 1827), a Roman Catholic priest from Monterrey and a famous preacher and politician in New Spain, also one of the most prominent figures of Nuevo León during the independence movement of New Spain	7,047	981	6
038	Mina	Mina	1851	Founded in 1608 by the Spanish Canarian settler Bernabé de las Casas as the Hacienda de San Francisco de Cañas, also known as "Valle de San Francisco de las Cañas" and San Francisco de las Cañas which was an administrative area of the Valle de las Salinas, it was declared as a municipality in 1851	Francisco Javier Mina, (December 15, 1789–November 11, 1817), a Spanish lawyer and army officer who sympathized with the Mexican independence from Spain, convinced by Friar Servando Teresa de Mier that it was possible to fight the absolute monarchy of Ferdinand VII in his own colonies.	5,384	3,915	1.28
039	Montemorelos	Montemorelos	1825	Prior to 1825, the area was part of the Valle de San Mateo del Pilón established in 1701, which was founded in 1653 by the Spanish Captain Alonso de León	Composed of the words Monte (mountain), and Morelos, a precursor of the independence of Mexico from Spain	53,854	1,700	30.9
040	Monterrey	Monterrey	1596	Founded in its first attempt in 1577 by Alberto del Canto as Santa Lucía, re-founded by Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva in 1582 as San Luis rey de Francia but it still was unpopulated, and was finally declared founded with success on September 20, 1596 by Diego de Montemayor as Nuestra Señora de Monterrey	The city is named Monterrey in honor of the Count and Countess of Monterrey, Spain, also viceroy of New Spain Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo and his wife	1,133,814	781	2461
041	Parás	Parás	1851	Previously formed as a ranch called Rancho del Huizachal de los Canales, created as a municipality in 1851	José María Parás y Ballesteros, First governor of Nuevo León as a Mexican state	992	1,008	1
042	Pesquería	Pesquería	1844	Founded in 1699 as Hacienda del Espíritu Santo, later known as Hacienda of Pesquería Chica	Pesquería in Spanish means 'fishery', it was named so because of the Pesquería River, which cross the area	3,075	346	27
043	Rayones	Rayones	1851	Merged in 1851 as Rayones, prior to 1851, the municipal seat was a ranch named San Miguel del Tasajal, which was part of the Valle del Pilón now Montemorelos	In honor of the brothers, Ramón, Ignacio and Francisco Rayón, who fought in the Mexican war of Independence	905.20	844	2.88
044	Sabinas Hidalgo	Sabinas Hidalgo	1826	Founded in 1693 as Valle de Santiago de las Sabinas, created as a municipality in 1826	Sabinas, the Spanish word for "Junipers", coniferous plants abundant in the area	32,040	1,393	19.4
045	Salinas Victoria	Salinas Victoria	1826	Founded by the Portuguese settler Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva as "Villa de Cueva" in 1586, subsequently known as Valle de Salinas, which was the administrative area's seat of the Valle de las Salinas, one of the five original administrative areas of the New kingdom of León	"Salinas" (Spanish for salt marshes) was chosen because the lands present saline characteristics. "Victoria" after the first presidentof Mexico Guadalupe Victoria.	27,848	1,609	19.4
046	San Nicolás de los Garza	San Nicolás de los Garza	1830	Founded in 1596 when the lands were transfer by Diego de Montemayor (who successfully had founded Monterrey), to Diego Díaz de Berlanga and his wife Mariana. It was known as San Nicolás de los Garza, created as a municipality in 1830	In honor of Saint Nicholas, and the last part in honor of the Garza surname of Pedro de la Garza, an early Spanish settler and rancher of the area	496,878	57	5,724
047	San Pedro Garza García	San Pedro Garza García	1882	The lands were passed in November 20, 1596 to Diego de Montemayor's son, Diego de Montemayor el mozo, the area was called San Pedro de los Nogales in 1725, later known as the Valle de San Pedro, and created as a municipality in 1882	"San Pedro", in honor of Saint Peter, and "Garza Garcia", in honor of the governor of Nuevo León, Genaro Garza García	125,978	86.8	1,815
048	Santa Catarina	Santa Catarina	1864	Founded in November 20, 1596 by the Spanish captain Lucas García as the Hacienda de Santa Catarina, later known as Valle de Santa Catarina, created as a municipality in 1864	In honor of Saint Catherine, as it was founded on the eve of Saint Catherine's day (November 24)	227,026	927	230
049	Santiago	Santiago	1831	Founded in 1648 as Valle de Santiago del Huajuco by Diego Rodríguez de Montemayor (Diego de Montemayor's grandson)	"Santiago", a Spanish name version of the apostle James, son of Alphaeus	37,886	732	48.2
050	Vallecillo	Vallecillo	1825	Founded in 1768 as Real de San Carlos de Vallecillo	In honor of El Vallecillo, a Spanish municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain	2,169	1,823	1.16
051	Villaldama	Villaldama	1826	Founded in 1690 as Boca de Leones or Real Boca de Leones, created as a municipality in 1826 with the name of Villaldama	Juan Aldama, one of the precursors of the independence of Mexico	4,247	1,436	4.87

External links

• Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México: Nuevo León (in Spanish)
• INEGI: Population of Nuevo León by municipality (2000) (in Spanish).