Hidalgo economic growth 2026 INEGI record 8.5 percent, Digi Mart USA News (Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico): Hidalgo’s Secretary of Economic Development, Carlos Henkel Escorza, presented a historic review of the state’s economic and productive performance at a press conference in Pachuca. He said that under the leadership of Governor Julio Menchaca Salazar, the state has broken longstanding paradigms and has consolidated itself as the national leader in economic activity.
Escorza said the results reflect an integrated strategy built on attracting investment, industrial diversification and legal certainty, aimed at aligning economic development with social justice and the well-being of families in Hidalgo.
According to Mexico’s INEGI, in the second quarter of 2026, as in the first half of the year, Hidalgo’s economy recorded annual growth of 8.5%, ranking first nationally and well above the national average of 1.9%. The state reports that this is the highest growth recorded for a first semester in the past 28 years.
In national comparisons, Hidalgo outpaces industrial powerhouses such as Nuevo León (1.9%) and Querétaro (1.6%). To illustrate the scale of this growth, the state’s 8.5% rate exceeds International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2026 projections for large economies, including India (7.0%) and China (4.5%), and is nearly four times the projected growth rate for the United States and twelve times that of Japan.
The state’s industrial sector also grew strongly, recording cumulative annual growth of 17.9% in the first half of 2026 and leading the country in that category, according to the report.
Escorza highlighted strategic projects including the PODECOBI Reserva Zapotlán, Mercado Libre’s first robotic distribution center in the country, and the new Laboratorios Carnot plant in the PLATAH industrial park.
He added that, according to formal employment figures from the IMSS, 44,875 new formal jobs have been created since the current state administration began, a 17.5% increase that places Hidalgo third nationally in this category.
