Quick answer: Mexican consulates publish or use locally denominated economic-solvency amounts under a federal visa framework, but the resulting thresholds are not uniform. Current official pages for San Francisco and Del Rio publish Temporary Residency monthly-income figures of $4,081.05 and $4,786.38 respectively: a 17.3% spread, or $8,464 over 12 months. Applicants should begin with the consulate serving their home address and confirm directly whether any other post will accept them before making an appointment or travel plans.
Key findings (2026)
- US income spread: 17.3% — from $4,081.05/month (San Francisco) to $4,786.38/month (Del Rio). That's $705.33/month, or $8,463.96 over 12 months, of additional qualifying income.
- US savings spread: 17.3% — from $68,014.65 (San Francisco) to $79,772.93 (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 reflects local conversion, publication, and update practices. The consulate's current instructions—not this comparison—control an application.
Can you qualify for Mexican residency?
Check your income or savings against the 2026 requirements for your situation — about 2 minutes, free.
Where the data comes from
ResidencyMexico maintains a comparison dataset of locally stated economic-solvency amounts—the income or savings evidence used for Temporary or Permanent Residency applications. The table deliberately separates two evidence levels:
- Official source: the row has a direct consulate or SRE publication behind it. Where available, the consulate page links that primary source.
- Tracked comparison: the amount is retained in our comparison dataset, but we do not currently have a direct official URL supporting the row. Treat it as a lead to verify, not as a substitute for the consulate's instructions.
Federal-formula estimates are excluded from the chart, table, and headline spread. Every displayed row links to its consulate page, where we show its source status and review date. Researchers can also download the US comparison as CSV.
Methodology
- We take the Temporary Residency economic-solvency amounts stored for each consulate and compare only rows categorized as official-source or tracked-comparison data.
- We exclude formula-only estimates, missing amounts, and cross-currency comparisons from the US spread.
- We sort monthly income and savings separately, then calculate the percentage spread as
(highest − lowest) ÷ lowest. - The annualized income difference is the monthly difference multiplied by 12; it is not a fee or an amount paid to the government.
- Amounts and document windows can change. We preserve the review date and link the primary source when one is available.
Dataset reviewed: July 18, 2026. Headline calculation: ($4,786.38 − $4,081.05) ÷ $4,081.05 = 17.28%; ($4,786.38 − $4,081.05) × 12 = $8,463.96. Both endpoints are linked to current official consulate pages: San Francisco and Del Rio.
One visa framework, different local thresholds
Mexico's visa rules provide a common federal framework, while consular instructions express solvency in locally usable amounts and specify the evidence they will review. Consular pages commonly reference UMA-based multiples; they can differ in conversion, update timing, evidence windows, and implementation. The result in our US official-source and tracked-comparison rows is:
| Consulate | Temporary — income /mo | Temporary — savings | Per dependent | Source status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego (CA) | $4,049 | $68,241 | $1,460 | Official source |
| San Francisco (CA) | $4,081 | $68,015 | $1,360 | Official source |
| Denver (CO) | $4,200 | $70,000 | — | Official source |
| Portland (OR) | $4,200 | $70,000 | $1,488 | Official source |
| Presidio (TX) | $4,200 | $73,000 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Oklahoma City (OK) | $4,293 | — | — | Tracked comparison |
| Atlanta (GA) | $4,300 | $71,000 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Boise (ID) | $4,400 | $75,000 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Phoenix (AZ) | $4,400 | $72,500 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Tucson (AZ) | $4,450 | $75,000 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Brownsville (TX) | $4,500 | $72,000 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Philadelphia (PA) | $4,500 | $76,000 | — | Official source |
| Las Vegas (NV) | $4,630 | $78,025 | $1,498 | Official source |
| Houston (TX) | $4,700 | $78,000 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Del Rio (TX) | $4,786 | $79,773 | — | Official source |
A retiree documenting $4,350/month would be above some rows in this comparison and below others. That does not establish eligibility by itself: the consulate may apply jurisdiction rules, require a particular statement period, distinguish pension income from employment income, request additional evidence, or update its amount before the appointment.
The spread is informative—not permission to “shop” consulates
Consulates operate within geographic jurisdictions, and many official pages tell applicants to use the post corresponding to their residence. Some posts may accept applicants from elsewhere, but that is a post-specific intake decision—not a general right and not something this dataset can establish.
Use the comparison to understand how published practices differ. Start with the consulate serving your address. Before using another post, obtain explicit confirmation that it will accept your application, then confirm its current threshold, evidence window, appointment method, and proof-of-address rules. Do that before paying for travel or relying on a threshold in financial planning.
The free calculator applies the stored amount for the consulate you select and identifies whether income or savings appears stronger. It is a planning screen, not an approval prediction.
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 | Source status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leamington (ON) | CA$6,461 | CA$108,894 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Vancouver (BC) | CA$6,461 | CA$108,894 | — | Tracked comparison |
| Toronto (ON) | CA$6,915 | CA$115,238 | — | Tracked comparison |
Toronto's CAD $6,915 sits 7% above Vancouver and Leamington at CAD $6,461.
Western Europe (EUR/month, Temporary income):
See the consulate requirement pages for each consulate's published 2026 amounts.
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)
The federal framework is implemented through individual consular posts. Their public instructions can reflect different conversion dates, update cadences, rounding, evidentiary windows, and local presentation. The comparison shows the outcome; it does not let us attribute every difference to one cause without confirmation from the consulates.
The practical consequence is that there is no safe universal dollar figure. Applicants near a threshold should leave a buffer and verify the current amount and documentation rules with their assigned consulate shortly before applying.
Common questions
Why do Mexican consulates require different income amounts for the same visa? Because the requirement is set federally in pesos (680 × UMA for Temporary income), and each consulate converts that to local currency itself — at its own exchange rate, on its own update schedule. The underlying peso figure is identical everywhere; only the conversion differs, which is how an identical visa ends up spanning 17.3% in dollar terms.
Which US consulate has the lowest income requirement? On current published figures, San Francisco at $4,081.05/month for Temporary income. The highest is Del Rio at $4,786.38 — a difference of $705.33/month, or $8,463.96 across a year of qualifying income.
Can I just apply at the cheapest consulate? Not by default. Jurisdiction normally follows your registered address, and out-of-area acceptance is a per-consulate policy rather than a national rule — some posts take outside applicants routinely, others enforce jurisdiction strictly. Confirm directly before booking or travelling. The spread is useful information, not permission to shop.
Does the savings threshold vary the same way? Yes, by the same 17.3% — from $68,014.65 (San Francisco) to $79,772.93 (Del Rio) — because it's the same formula (11,460 × UMA) converted the same way.
Does this happen outside the US? Yes, though less dramatically: about 7% across Canada (Toronto CAD $6,915 vs CAD $6,461 in Vancouver and Leamington) and roughly 12% across Western Europe (€3,550/month in Spain vs €3,983 in Italy).
Will the gap ever be fixed? There's no mechanism that would close it. Nothing requires consulates to converge on a common rate or update in step, and the peso amount they're all converting is genuinely the same — so the spread is a byproduct of local practice rather than a defect anyone owns.
Notes for journalists and researchers
This analysis uses our official-source and tracked-comparison rows; it excludes formula estimates. The two headline endpoints are current official consulate publications, rechecked on August 20, 2026. Amounts can change. Please identify ResidencyMexico as the compiler, preserve the source-status distinction, and link to this page so readers can see the methodology and latest review. The publication CSV is deliberately narrower than the chart: it contains only individual figures with a direct official source URL and verification date. For questions, corrections, a custom country cut, or a chart for publication: hello@residencymexico.com.
Next step
Wondering where you stand against the amount tracked for your consulate? Run the free calculator—it compares your income and savings with the selected consulate's current stored figures and shows their source status. Confirm the result with the consulate before applying. For jurisdiction and appointment considerations, see the consulate comparison guide.