Which parts of Mexico do most Mexican immigrants come from?

Darker colors signify higher rates of out-migration. From the CONAPO report Índices de intensidad migratoria México-Estados Unidos 2010, Anexo A, p. 52. http://www.conapo.gob.mx/work/models/CONAPO/intensidad_migratoria/anexos/Anexo_A.pdf

Although high rates of migration to the US persist in major border cities like Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, and Nuevo Lardeo, you may be surprised to learn that Mexico’s border states have among the lowest levels of out-migration in the country.

Most Mexican immigrants actually come from the center-west region of the country—from states like Michoacán, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Jalisco. This region—the traditional epicenter of Mexican emigration to the US—is way down in the middle of the country. Michoacán, for example—where I filmed The Other Side of Immigration—is about 1000 miles south of El Paso, Texas.

Portions of the central states of Querétaro, Hidalgo, and Puebla are also emigration hotspots. Between 2000 and 2010, more and more Mexicans began migrating from the south and southeastern states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, which traditionally have not been major emigration centers. The southernmost parts of Mexico—states like Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo—continue to have the lowest levels of out-migration to the US, as do Mexico State and the Federal District of Mexico City.

All this information comes from a new report by Mexico’s National Population Council (CONAPO) called Índices de intensidad migratoria México-Estados Unidos 2010 (Indexes of Migration Intensity Mexico-US 2010). The report also contains interesting data on the percentage of households that receive remittances, that have return migrants, and engage in circular migration patterns.  Click here to see all the interesting maps and data for yourself.