Average salary in Mexico: 2025 data for employers

Mexico has a talented workforce with skilled bilingual professionals in technology, customer service, tourism, and beyond. For US employers, hiring within this pool is an excellent way to grow a strong cross-border team.

But where do you start? Begin by understanding how to fairly compensate Mexican teammates and getting familiar with salary expectations and the labor landscape in the country.

To do that, you’ll want to learn what the average salary in Mexico is, what factors influence it, and how you can correctly benchmark competitive rates in key industries.

What is the average salary in Mexico?

If you’re hiring employees or contractors in Mexico, it’s important to know the country’s local salary averages and consider them in salary benchmarks. This way, your compensation aligns with the local salary expectations, which correlate to the cost of living in the country.

The average salary in Mexico is 229,220 Mexican pesos (MXN) (roughly 13,314.82 USD annually). This figure is based on recent data that estimates the average hourly wage in Mexico at around 78.5 MXN (4.56 USD) per hour for an eight-hour workday. That’s about 628 MXN per day, or 36.5 USD.

However, average salaries vary widely by geographical location and profession. For example, in Mexico City, where costs of living are relatively high, IT professionals may earn more than their counterparts in Aguascalientes.

Plus, averages can be misleading. They’re calculated by adding all salaries—from both high and low earners—and dividing by the number of earners, so a few very high or very low income earners can skew the results. On the other hand, median income represents the midpoint of all salaries, providing a more accurate benchmark of typical earnings in an area.

In short, referencing average salary information in your benchmarking process might be useful, but it isn’t always the best reflection of what typical workers earn. To offer fair compensation, seek more specific data on the industries and roles you’re hiring for.

The minimum wage in Mexico by region

If you’re hiring employees or remote workers in Mexico, it’s essential that you compensate employees in line with the legal wage requirements in the country.

Mexico has two minimum wage categories: one for locations on the border with the US, like Tijuana and Enseñada, and another for the rest of the country. Minimum wages along the border are higher, as part of the Mexican government’s attempt to combat inequality in a region with significant economic interplay with the US. The goal is to improve the quality of living in this zone. As of January 2025, the minimum wage in Mexico’s border regions is 419.88 MXN (approximately 24 USD) per day. Newspaper reporters are the only exception, earning a minimum of 624.30 MXN (about 36 USD) per day.

In the rest of the country, minimum wages vary widely by profession and are typically lower. The generalized minimum wage in Mexico is 278.80 MXN (around 16 USD) per day. Certain professions earn higher salaries, with reporters at the top of the scale, followed by electricians, truck drivers, repair workers, and secretaries.

The Mexican government estimates minimum monthly salaries of 12,771.35 MXN (741.91 USD) in the border region and 8,480.17 MXN (492.64 USD) in the rest of the country, which translate to annual salaries of 153,256.2 MXN (8,904.63 USD) and 101,762.04 MXN (5,911.68 USD), respectively. 

But Mexican employers typically don’t offer salaries at annual rates, favoring monthly figures. So, as you connect with talent from Mexico, keep in mind that professionals may use the word “salary” to refer to monthly earnings.

Annual increases to Mexican salaries

In Mexico, a new minimum wage takes effect in January of each year. The minimum wage increased by 6.5% in 2025, and 13% in 2026, bringing the daily rate up to 440.87 MXN (25.69 USD) in the border regions and 315.04 MXN (18.35 USD) in the rest of the country.

Other salary hikes are often the result of collective bargaining or contractual obligations. Unionized workers renegotiate annual salaries, and other professionals (like office workers) may earn a pay bump due to excellent performance or increasing seniority, as per the terms of their contracts.

While Mexican labor laws insist on fair compensation that covers basic necessities, employers aren’t required to offer increases proportional to inflation. Their only obligation is to pay minimum-wage employees the annual government-mandated increments. 

Key factors influencing salaries in Mexico

Three primary factors influence salaries in Mexico: education level, location, and the health of the economy. In general, those with higher education levels and living in urban areas earn better incomes, and the government maintains higher wage minimums in stronger economic conditions. Here’s more on these key influences.

Education level

In Mexico, higher levels of education correlate to better monthly salaries. 

According to El Informador, those with an elementary education earn under 5,750 MXN (314.46 USD) monthly, while their counterparts with a middle school education access monthly salaries of up to 7,991 MXN (437.01 USD). Those who complete high school receive up to 9,516 MXN (520.41 USD), and college graduates up to 16,649 MXN (910.51 USD). Finally, those with a master’s degree tend to earn between 24,000 MXN (1,312.52 USD) and 35,500 MXN (1,941.44 USD). 

Location

Location heavily impacts Mexican salaries. Even the country’s minimum wages differ by geography. The states of Mexico City, Baja California, Nuevo León, and Querétaro have the highest average salaries, while Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango, and Oaxaca have the lowest. According to data compiled in the Expansión magazine, the monthly average salary in Mexico City is 23,620.75 MXN (1,291.78 USD) and in Sinaloa is 14,870.27 MXN (813.23 USD).

These numbers correlate with variations in the average cost of living in Mexico. In Mexico City, household costs total over 22,000 MXN (1,203.14 USD) monthly for those renting housing. But in a lower cost-of-living state, like Oaxaca, monthly expenses come up to around 11,369 MXN (621.75 USD).

Economic factors

Mexican salaries fluctuate in response to wider economic trends. For example, US-imposed tariffs—coupled with a recent economic downturn in major sectors, like mining and natural gas—may make it difficult for the Mexican government to raise the minimum wage in 2026 as much as projected. Despite this economic challenge, unions continue to advocate for an even higher boost than the proposed 11–12%, seeking 16–30% increases.

Average salary by industry

For employers sourcing talent from Mexico, labor cost projections rely more heavily on industry standards than minimum wages—especially if hiring workers used to earning higher- than-average salaries from international companies.

The following table provides solid references for salary benchmarking in common remote-work fields to help you understand how much it costs to hire in Mexico.

*Data updated between 2020 and 2025

Benefits of hiring talent in Mexico

Mexico is an attractive market for US companies seeking top talent in fields like technology, customer service, finance, content creation, and other remote-friendly industries. 

Here are a few perks of hiring from Mexico:

• Similar time zones: Mexican employees or contractors can connect at hours that align well with their American team members’ schedules. Most of the country follows Mexican Central Time, which aligns with either the Central Time or Mountain Time in the US, depending on the season. Mexico doesn’t observe daylight saving time.
• Cultural alignment: Thanks to their proximity to the US, many Mexican candidates understand American social cues, often having grown up with the same cultural references. You’ll also find applicants with extensive experience working with American or bi-national companies, and an understanding of common professional practices.
• Skilled, bilingual workforce: Mexico boasts a talented workforce that speaks both English and Spanish. New hires will be able to communicate well with American colleagues, and help the organization with dual-language tasks, like bilingual content creation. Mexico is also home to strong tech talent, leading the Latin American market with globally influential hubs in Mexico City and Guadalajara. The latter is widely known as Mexico’s Silicon Valley.

Streamline hiring and payments in Mexico with Oyster

Finding the perfect candidate in Mexico for an open tech, tourism, or customer service role might be easy, thanks to the country’s dedicated workforce. But compliantly adding these professionals to your payroll can be tricky. 

Oyster helps you confidently hire and pay in Mexico. Oyster streamlines the onboarding, payment, and benefits processes for new hires, so your People Ops teams don’t have to navigate complex international labor and tax laws.

Use Oyster’s global payroll and EOR services to expand your workforce across borders, hassle-free.

About Oyster

Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, engage, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.

Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world—with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.