The 2025 Numbers Are In: Americans in Mexico Are No Longer a Trickle
INM, U.S. State Department, and Banco de México data agree on the broad strokes: more Americans moved to Mexico last year than at any point since the 1970s.
The headline number gets debated because the agencies counting it use different definitions, but every credible source agrees: the post-pandemic acceleration of Americans relocating to Mexico didn't end with the return to office. It compounded.
What the agencies say
The Instituto Nacional de Migración recorded approximately 47,000 new Temporary Residency permits issued to U.S. citizens in 2025, up from 19,000 in 2019 — a 147% increase over six years. Permanent Residency conversions ran another 11,000. INM also processed roughly 9,000 family-unit applications, a category that grew faster than any other.
The U.S. State Department's overseas-citizen estimates put the total American population in Mexico at 1.6 million — though this number includes dual citizens, retirees in Lake Chapala communities since the 1990s, and short-stay snowbirds. The State Department's own caveats emphasize the number is undercounted; consular registration is voluntary.
Banco de México's migrant-remittances flow, often a useful proxy, dropped slightly in 2025 for the first time in five years — consistent with a population shifting from "money sent home" to "money stays in Mexico."
What the demographics actually look like
The simplest profile shift: it used to be retirees, now it's families and remote-working professionals in their thirties and forties.
- Median age of new Temporary Residency applicants: 41 (down from 58 in 2018)
- Share with at least one child under 18: 28% (up from 9%)
- Share working remotely for U.S. employers: estimated 41% (no official figure)
- Top three destination states: Quintana Roo, Yucatán, CDMX — accounting for 64% of new permits
Where the next year is heading
INM has signaled no policy changes for 2026. The U.S.-Mexico exchange rate remains in a band that makes Mexican cost-of-living attractive. The American work-from-anywhere norm hasn't reversed. And every forecasting model that predicted the trend would soften has been wrong for three consecutive years.
Whether you find that exciting or alarming probably depends on which side of the border you're reading this from.