Tamaulipas ranked among the states with the highest multi-year economic dynamism in Mexico, recording an average annual growth rate of 2.12 percent between the second quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026, placing it fourth nationally.
The calculation, based on figures from the Quarterly Indicator of State Economic Activity (ITAEE) of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), shows that only four states achieved average annual growth rates above 2 percent during that period: Hidalgo, with 3.56 percent; Chiapas, 3.32 percent; Colima, 2.92 percent; and Tamaulipas, 2.12 percent.
By sector, Tamaulipas also ranked among the states with the highest dynamism. In primary activities, it recorded an average annual growth rate of 18.03 percent between the second quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026, the second-highest in the country, behind only Campeche and ahead of Sinaloa and Morelos.
In secondary activities, it ranked fourth nationally, with average annual growth of 4.04 percent, behind Hidalgo, Colima, and Oaxaca.
The trajectory of Tamaulipas’ economy shows a recovery between 2023 and 2025, followed by an acceleration at the beginning of 2026. According to revised ITAEE figures, the state ended 2023 with an annual contraction of 0.9 percent, but reversed that trend in 2024, growing 2.4 percent, a rate it maintained in 2025.
The quarterly performance provides a more detailed view of this evolution. In 2024, the year-over-year variation increased from 0.1 percent in the first quarter to 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter, while in 2025 it rose from 1.1 percent at the beginning of the year to 3.3 percent in the final quarter.
The trend strengthened at the beginning of 2026. During the first quarter, economic activity in Tamaulipas increased 5.2 percent compared with the same period in 2025, versus national growth of only 0.3 percent. With this result, the state recorded the second-highest increase in the country, surpassed only by Hidalgo.
During the first quarter of 2026, primary activities —agriculture, livestock, fishing, and forestry— grew 16.5 percent; secondary activities, which include industrial and manufacturing activities, increased 9.4 percent; and tertiary activities grew 1.1 percent.
The ITAEE also indicates that Tamaulipas made the largest contribution to national economic activity growth during the first quarter of 2026, contributing 0.16 percentage points, ahead of the State of Mexico, Hidalgo, and Nuevo León.
In primary activities, Tamaulipas ranked ninth nationally in terms of growth, with the aforementioned 16.5 percent increase, and was the fifth state with the largest contribution to the national performance of this sector.
This economic performance is taking place in a state with a significant industrial and export platform. As of March 2026, according to INEGI statistics, Tamaulipas had 350 establishments registered under the Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry Program (IMMEX).
Its participation in foreign trade is another important factor. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, Tamaulipas ranked first nationally in road freight flows to the United States, accounting for 42.1 percent of the national total, and also ranked first in rail freight flows to that country, with 49 percent.
Regarding exports, figures available as of September 2025 placed Tamaulipas sixth nationally in total exports. By sector, it ranked first in the chemical industry; third in the manufacture of electrical accessories, appliances, and power-generation equipment; fourth in the manufacture of computer and communications equipment, electronic components and accessories; and fourth in machinery manufacturing.
In this context, the government of Américo Villarreal Anaya, with the support of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, is promoting strategic projects such as the Northern Port of Matamoros, the Ciudad Victoria Inland Port, the modernization of Irrigation Districts 025 and 026, the second Victoria Aqueduct line, and the expansion of the Nuevo Laredo international bridge.
The Mexico–Nuevo Laredo railway project is also underway, and a highway bypass for northern Mexico has been proposed.
According to figures from the Government of Tamaulipas, investment during the current state administration amounts to approximately 21 billion dollars, distributed among 174 confirmed projects.
Thus, the indicators show a trajectory that moved from the contraction recorded in 2023 to two consecutive years of growth and an acceleration of 5.2 percent annually at the beginning of 2026, while the multi-year balance places Tamaulipas among the four states with the highest economic dynamism in the country.
Source: heraldodemexico
