The minimum wage per day guaranteed by law in Mexico was decreed to increase by approximately 12 percent between 2024 and 2025, reaching 278.8 Mexican pesos in 2025. The Northern Free Zone located near the northern border was the exception, where the minimum daily wage increased to 419.88 Mexican pesos. Education and income disparity The income distribution is entirely a new story than minimum wages, in fact, there are many factors that influence the level of salaries for Mexican workers. One of the main differences is by the number of schooling years, someone with more than 18 years of study earns on average double than employees with seven to nine years. Moreover, the area of study, while statistics and finance mean salaries, the highest wages by degree, are above 30,000 Mexican pesos per month, others such as performing arts and theology rank as the lowest paying degrees in Mexico.
Poverty still among the main problems
Despite one of the main reasons for minimum wage increases being moving people out from poverty conditions, poverty continues to be one of the main problems Mexican society faces. The number of people living under poverty conditions has decreased by 8.54 million inhabitants from 2014 to 2022, nonetheless, the figure is still higher than 46.5 million. The poverty rate varies among states, with Chiapas leading the ranking with 67.4 percent of the population under such conditions, while both Baja California and Baja California Sur recorded less than 14 percent.

In 2023, the average wage in Mexico achieved its highest level since 2009, amounting to around 20,090 U.S. dollars per year. Moreover, the average annual wage increased for the third consecutive year. Employment conditions In light of the crucial role that employment plays as a primary source of income, perceiving their working conditions to be poor, a sentiment held by nearly half of Mexico's workforce. Furthermore, the distribution of working hours skews towards non-monetarily compensated positions, particularly impacting the female demographic on households. This imbalance poses challenges to sustaining motivation. Informal employment also exhibits a higher prevalence among females, presenting regulatory complexities. Furthermore, a perceived gender-based disparity in employment opportunities subsists, amplifying the overarching concerns. As these factors coalesce, one out of every two individuals' harbors apprehensions about potential job loss. Salaries vs. Life expenses In 2023, the minimum wage has witnessed a considerable increase. Nevertheless, it continues to fall short of meeting essential living costs. Calculations indicate that a worker should ideally earn at least twice the amount of the latest increment to adequately cover these necessary expenses. A significant portion of the population—approximately one-third—finds itself residing beneath the threshold of basic food basket expenses. Consequently, Mexico ranks as the country where grocery expenses constitute the highest percentage of earnings. Furthermore, this predicament disproportionately impacts women, as they are often remunerated at lower wage rates.

As of the first quarter of 2024 in Mexico, the lowest paid degrees by professional degree were for the fishing professionals with an average monthly salary of 9,854 Mexican pesos.

This statistic displays the average annual salary of laborers in selected Mexican states as of October 2018 (in Mexican pesos). Among the surveyed states, the state of Nuevo León presented the highest average salary for general laborers or workers, with about 66,288 Mexican pesos a year, followed by Jalisco with 59,376 pesos.

This statistic depicts the average hourly wage in the manufacturing sector in Mexico compared to the U.S. from 2015 to 2017. As of June 2017, a manufacturing worker in Mexico earned approximately 2.3 U.S. dollars an hour, whereas the average salary in the U.S. stood at 20.8 U.S. dollars an hour.

In Mexico as of the third quarter of 2023, the sectors of occupation measured by the average monthly salary had the extractive industry as the clear leader, in terms of highest average salary, with 10,612 Mexican pesos, followed by the governmental, education and health areas.

How much do IT professionals earn in Mexico? It was found that an average salary in the Mexican IT sector amounted to 417 thousand Mexican pesos a year as of April 2020. A Java developer made 336 thousand pesos annually. A software test engineer earned 424 thousand.

As of December 2024, among the surveyed jobs in the automotive manufacturing industry in Mexico, the position of Manufacturing engineering manager presented an average salary of around 635,000 Mexican pesos a year. Meanwhile, that year, mechanical and project engineers earned on average around 560,000 pesos a year.

As of the third quarter of 2024, the Mexican population receiving an average monthly salary recorded the lowest amount for the females aging 75 years or more with 2,900 Mexican pesos. On the other hand, the topmost value was for the males between 35 and 44 years with 9,970 pesos.

As of the first quarter of 2024, the two highest paid professional degrees among all professional development areas were from the economic and administrative sector. Statistics ranked first with over 27,000 Mexican pesos.

During the time shown, the average monthly wage in the Mexican state of Jalisco has experienced a general positive trend with the highest value recorded in the second quarter of 2023 with 6.260 Mexican pesos.

How much do software services professionals earn in Mexico? According to the data, the average annual salary of a software engineer amounted to 564.8 thousand Mexican pesos as on January 2022. On the other hand, one of the highest average salaries in the Mexican software services sector was that of a Software architect, totaling 900 thousand Mexican pesos a year.

During the time shown, the average monthly wage in the Mexican state of Nayarit has experienced a general positive trend, with the highest value recorded in the first quarter of 2024 with 8,651 Mexican pesos.

During the third quarter of 2024, the average monthly wage of formal employees in Jalisco, Mexico was around 7,294 Mexican pesos, while those working in the shadow economy earned around1,700 pesos less.

Among the surveyed job positions in the Mexican service sector, the activities requiring more theoretical knowledge such as the position of graphic journalist and reporters in printed newspapers presented the highest wages in the list, with an average of 248.09 Mexican pesos a day in 2019. On the other hand, manual laborers such as maids and employees working in gondolas had the lowest wages, with an average of 104.64 Mexican pesos a day.

Throughout the depicted time period, the average monthly wage in the Mexican state of Chiapas exhibited a consistent upward trend, reflecting a positive pattern. This development reached its topmost value in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the average monthly wage reaching a value of approximately 4,839.88 Mexican pesos.

In 2012, the average monthly salary in the textile industry in Mexico amounted to 8,714 Mexican pesos per person. This is the largest salary registered in the North American country since 2013. The Mexican textile industry employs over 120 thousand people.

Costa Rica is the country with the highest minimum monthly wage in Latin America. According to the minimum salary established by law as of January 2025, workers in the Central American country enjoy a basic monthly wage of over 726 U.S. dollars, an increase of 2.37 percent compared to the previous year. They also earn over 200 U.S. dollars more than the second place, Uruguay. On the other side of the spectrum is Venezuela, where employees are only guaranteed by law a minimum salary of 130 bolívares or little more than 2.50 dollars per month. Can Latin Americans survive on a minimum wage? Even if most countries in Latin America have instated laws to guarantee citizens a basic income, these minimum standards are often not enough to meet household needs. For instance, it was estimated that almost 25 million people in Mexico lacked basic housing services. Salary levels also vary greatly among Latin American economies. In 2020, the average net monthly salary in Mexico was barely higher than Chile's minimum wage in 2021. What can a minimum wage afford in Latin America? Latin American real wages have generally risen in the past decade. However, consumers in this region still struggle to afford non-basic goods, such as tech products. Recent estimates reveal that, in order to buy an iPhone, Brazilian residents would have to work at least two months to be able to pay for it. A gaming console, on the other hand, could easily cost a Latin American worker several minimum wages.

During the time shown, the average monthly wage in the Mexican state of Morelos has experienced a general positive trend with the highest value recorded in the first quarter of 2023 with 3,040 Mexican pesos.

How much do marketing, advertising and media professionals earn in Mexico? It was found that an average salary in the Mexican marketing, advertising and media sector amounted to 228 thousand Mexican pesos a year as of May 2021. A marketing manager made 480 thousand pesos annually. An social media manager earned 240 thousand.