Quick answer: Mexico sets one federal formula for residency requirements, but each consulate converts it to local currency at its own rate — and the differences are large. Across US consulates with published 2026 figures, the same Temporary Residency visa requires $4,081/month of income in San Francisco and $4,786/month in Del Rio: a 17.3% spread, or $8,459/year. And because your consulate is assigned by your address, you can't shop around.
Key findings (2026)
- US income spread: 17.3% — from $4,081/month (San Francisco) to $4,786/month (Del Rio). That's $705/month, or $8,459/year, of extra required income for the identical visa.
- US savings spread: 17.6% — from $68,015 (San Francisco) to $80,000 (Del Rio).
- Canada: 7% — Toronto requires CAD $6,915/month vs CAD $6,461 in Vancouver and Leamington.
- Western Europe: ~12% — €3,550/month in Spain vs €3,983 in Italy.
- The spread is a by-product of exchange-rate conversion, not policy — and it quietly redistributes who qualifies.
Where the data comes from
ResidencyMexico maintains a continuously updated dataset of Mexican consulates' published economic-solvency requirements — the income or savings you must prove to qualify for Temporary or Permanent Residency. The figures below are each consulate's own published 2026 amounts (several verified directly against the consulates' official 2026 requirement sheets, which we link from each consulate page); consulates without published figures are excluded from the comparison rather than estimated. The full methodology and per-consulate sources are on our consulate pages.
The same visa, fifteen different prices
Mexico's immigration rules set residency thresholds as multiples of the UMA (117.31 MXN/day in 2026): 680 × UMA per month of income for Temporary Residency. One country, one formula. But applicants prove solvency in their local currency, and each consulate converts the peso threshold at its own rate, on its own schedule. The result, across US consulates with published 2026 figures:
| Consulate | Temporary — income /mo | Temporary — savings | Per dependent |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $4,081 | $68,015 | $1,360 |
| Presidio | $4,200 | $73,000 | — |
| New York | $4,292 | $71,530 | $1,431 |
| Oklahoma City | $4,293 | — | — |
| Atlanta | $4,300 | $71,000 | — |
| Boise | $4,400 | $75,000 | — |
| Phoenix | $4,400 | $72,500 | — |
| Tucson | $4,450 | $75,000 | — |
| Brownsville | $4,500 | $72,000 | — |
| San Diego | $4,510 | $75,950 | — |
| Las Vegas | $4,630 | $78,025 | $1,498 |
| Houston | $4,700 | $78,000 | — |
| Del Rio | $4,786 | $80,000 | — |
A retiree with a $4,350/month pension qualifies in San Francisco, Presidio, New York, Oklahoma City, and Atlanta — and fails in Phoenix, Boise, Tucson, Brownsville, San Diego, Las Vegas, Houston, and Del Rio. Same pension, same visa, same federal formula. The only variable is their home address.
You can't shop the spread
The obvious reaction — "I'll just apply at San Francisco" — doesn't work. Mexican consulates take applications from residents of their own jurisdiction, and they check: proof of address, and bank statements that carry your address on every page. The spread isn't an arbitrage opportunity; it's a lottery you've already been entered into by your zip code.
What applicants can do is know their own consulate's exact figure before planning anything — that's what our free calculator is for — and, if they're borderline, plan margin accordingly rather than discovering the gap at the appointment.
It's not just the US
The same mechanism produces spreads everywhere consulates publish their own conversions:
Canada (CAD/month, Temporary income):
| Consulate | Temporary — income /mo | Temporary — savings | Per dependent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leamington | CA$6,461 | CA$108,894 | — |
| Vancouver | CA$6,461 | CA$108,894 | — |
| Toronto | CA$6,915 | CA$115,238 | — |
Toronto's CAD $6,915 sits 7% above Vancouver and Leamington at CAD $6,461.
Western Europe (EUR/month, Temporary income):
| Consulate | Temporary — income /mo | Temporary — savings | Per dependent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | €3,550 | €60,000 | €1,150 |
| Madrid | €3,550 | €60,000 | €1,150 |
| Berlin | €3,943 | €65,713 | — |
| Frankfurt | €3,943 | €65,713 | — |
| Hamburg | €3,943 | €65,713 | — |
| Munich | €3,943 | €65,713 | — |
| Milan | €3,983 | €66,377 | — |
| Rome | €3,983 | €66,377 | — |
Spain's €3,550 to Italy's €3,983 is a 12% spread inside the eurozone — same currency, different conversion choices.
Why this happens (and why nobody fixes it)
Each consulate periodically converts the federal peso thresholds into local currency and publishes the result on its own requirements sheet. Convert in a strong-peso month and your applicants need more dollars; convert in a weak-peso month and they need fewer. Update annually and drift accumulates; update often and the number jumps around. There's no central reconciliation — the consulates aren't competing or coordinating, just converting at different moments.
The practical consequence: the margin between consulates (17.3%) is far larger than the margin most borderline applicants are working with. People budget to clear "the requirement" by 5%; whether they qualify is then decided by which line of a 50-consulate table they happen to live on.
Notes for journalists and researchers
This analysis uses consulates' published 2026 figures as of June 2026; amounts change as consulates re-convert, and our dataset updates continuously. You're welcome to cite these numbers with a link to this page or to the underlying consulate requirement pages, which carry per-consulate sources and verification dates. For questions or the full dataset: hello@residencymexico.com.
Next step
Wondering which line of the table you live on? Run the free calculator — it uses your specific consulate's published 2026 amounts and tells you exactly where you stand in about two minutes. For the qualitative differences between consulates (strictness, processing styles), see the consulate comparison guide.
Prefer not to piece the process together yourself? Our guided residency product walks you through the entire application end to end — a document checklist personalized to your consulate and income type, apostille and translation tracking, interview prep, and real human support along the way.