Jalisco placed three cities in the top rankings of the IMCO 2026 Urban Competitiveness Index, making it the only state in the country to achieve this. The measurement coincides with the opening of the 2026 World Cup, in which Guadalajara hosts four matches at Estadio Akron.

According to [El Informador](https://www.informador.mx/jalisco/jalisco-concentra-tres-de-las-ciudades-mas-competitivas-de-mexico-imco-20260612-0188.html), Guadalajara jumped from fourth to second place among cities with more than one million inhabitants, ahead of Monterrey and behind only Querétaro. Puerto Vallarta holds first place among cities of 500,000 to one million inhabitants, with 73.38% hotel occupancy and 8.98 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Ocotlán ranks third in the category of fewer than 250,000 people, its best historical performance.

The [IMCO](https://www.cronica.com.mx/jalisco/innovacion/2026/06/12/jalisco-coloca-a-tres-de-sus-ciudades-entre-las-mas-competitivas-del-pais-imco/) evaluated 72 cities through 35 indicators grouped into ten axes, including environment, society, the political system, innovation, and infrastructure, according to La Crónica. The index measures a city's capacity to attract investment, generate employment, and retain talent. The report identifies mobility, security, and urban services as decisive variables. Saltillo and Aguascalientes also rank at the top of their respective population ranges, while the Querétaro metropolitan area consolidates its national leadership.

Jalisco's triple presence reshapes the national nearshoring map: the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area reinforces its technology and services profile, Puerto Vallarta consolidates its tourism standing with record occupancy, and Ocotlán adds weight as an intermediate industrial node within the Lagos-Bajío corridor. The three cities exemplify three distinct index categories and reflect the state's internal diversification across economic profile, city size, and regional productive vocation.

The signal for the local ecosystem is concrete: IMCO metrics translate directly into private investment location decisions over the next twelve months, and the combination of the World Cup and existing infrastructure places the state in a global showcase. The next edition of the index will reveal whether this advantage consolidates or dissipates as the economic cycle turns. The next six months are the test.

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