Layout of Reynosa
Reynosa stands at about 40 m on the south bank of the Río Bravo, on flat delta country roughly 100 km inland from the Gulf. It was founded in March 1749 by José de Escandón as one of the villas of the colony of Nuevo Santander, and moved a few kilometres to its present site in 1802 after repeated flooding. The 2020 census counted 704,767 people in the municipality, which makes it the largest city in Tamaulipas — ahead of Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo and the state capital Ciudad Victoria.
The old centre is a small grid around the Plaza Principal and the church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, a few blocks south of the international bridge; the streets between the two carry the pharmacies, dentists and shops that serve day visitors from Texas. Beyond that grid the city is modern and low, laid out along Boulevard Hidalgo running south and Boulevard Morelos running east, with the Anzaldúas highway heading west along the river. The industrial parks sit on the southern and eastern edges, close to the ring road and the Pharr bridge approach. General Lucio Blanco International (REX) is about 8 km south-east of the centre with domestic flights to Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara; many travellers instead fly into McAllen on the Texas side and cross by road.
Distances from Reynosa
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hidalgo, Texas (bridge) | 3 | 15 min | On foot or by car, plus queue |
| Reynosa airport (REX) | 8 | 15 min | Taxi |
| McAllen, Texas | 15 | 30 min | Via the Reynosa–Hidalgo bridge |
| Matamoros | 100 | 1 h 15 | MX-2 border highway |
| Monterrey | 225 | 2 h 30 | MX-40D toll road |
| Nuevo Laredo | 235 | 3 h | MX-2 west |
| Saltillo | 305 | 3 h 30 | Via Monterrey, MX-40D |
| Ciudad Victoria | 320 | 3 h 30 | MX-97 and MX-101 south |
| Tampico | 500 | 5 h 30 | MX-180 down the Gulf coast |
| Mexico City | 960 | 10 h 30 | MX-40D and MX-57, overnight bus |
Crossings, factories and the gas basin
Three bridges link Reynosa to the Rio Grande Valley. The Reynosa–Hidalgo International Bridge is the downtown crossing, opened in its first form in 1926 and rebuilt since, and it takes pedestrians and passenger cars into Hidalgo. The Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge on the Rise, about 15 km east and opened in 1994, carries the commercial traffic and is the main entry point for fresh produce moving into the United States; a large part of the Mexican winter vegetable crop clears customs there. The Anzaldúas International Bridge, upstream to the west and opened in 2009, connects to Mission, Texas and takes cars and, since 2022, some southbound freight. The border map sets these against the other crossings from Tijuana east.
Manufacturing arrived with the Border Industrialisation Programme in the 1960s and has driven the city's growth ever since; the population has more than doubled since 1990. More than a hundred maquiladora plants operate in parks on the southern and eastern edges, assembling electronics, wiring harnesses, appliances and medical devices for export through Pharr and McAllen. The second industry is gas. The Burgos basin, which spreads south and west of the city across northern Tamaulipas into Nuevo León and Coahuila, is Mexico's main source of non-associated natural gas, and Pemex runs its gas processing complex and regional operations from Reynosa.
The surrounding country is flat farmland and thorn scrub, irrigated from the Río Bravo, with sorghum, maize and cotton in the districts west and south of the city. Reynosa has no beach: the nearest Gulf shore is beyond Matamoros, about 140 km east. Río Bravo, a separate municipality of about 118,000 people, sits 30 km downstream on the road to Matamoros, and the Gulf coast proper begins south of there. Summers are long and hot, with July and August averaging highs above 35 °C, while winter northers can drop the temperature by twenty degrees in a day; the rainfall of about 500 mm a year falls mostly between May and September, and the hurricane season occasionally pushes storms up the river valley from the Gulf. Highway 40D south-west to Monterrey is the usual route into the rest of northern Mexico.
Questions about Reynosa
Where is Reynosa on the map of Mexico?
On the Río Bravo in northern Tamaulipas, at 26.09° N, 98.28° W. It is the largest city in the state, about 100 km west of Matamoros and roughly 225 km north-east of Monterrey.
Which US city is across the border from Reynosa?
Hidalgo, Texas, with McAllen 10 km beyond it. Three bridges connect them: the Reynosa–Hidalgo bridge in the centre, the Pharr–Reynosa bridge to the east for commercial traffic, and the Anzaldúas bridge to the west, opened in 2009.
What is made in Reynosa?
Electronics, wiring harnesses, medical devices and appliances, in more than a hundred maquiladora plants spread through industrial parks on the south and east sides. Reynosa is also the operating centre for the Burgos gas basin.
Is Reynosa safe to visit?
Tamaulipas has carried the US State Department's highest travel advisory level for several years, and US government employees face movement restrictions in the state. Check the current advisory before travelling.