Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias

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Map 9. Employment 1997

John Hofmockel & Ana María Lemus

The San Diego-Tijuana economy is the largest twin-city economy of the U.S.-Mexican border region. San Diego's regional economic output is about 70 billion dollars, while the next largest U.S. border economy is El Paso at about 12 billion dollars. Tijuana's economy of approximately 3 to 5 billion dollars is dwarfed by that of San Diego, but on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in Mexico.

The linkages between the San Diego and Tijuana economies are particularly evident in the International Border Planning Area. Much of the recent development of Otay Mesa in San Diego is related to Mexico, providing administrative, component manufacturing, warehousing, and other services for the maquiladora industry across the border, as well as transportation and transhipment services for international commerce. The San Ysidro area is closely tied to Tijuana's economy through retail, transportation, and financial services (including banking and currency exchange). Employment in Tijuana's large Mesa de Otay maquiladora industry is dependent on San Diego and the United States, the market for most maquiladora products. A high percentage of retail employment in the area of Tijuana adjacent to the port of entry at San Ysidro and in the tourist district of Avenida Revolución is related to cross-border tourism. Also important in this zone of Tijuana are sales of prescription and nonprescription drugs and medical services to tourists and foreign visitors.

The U.S. portion of the planning area has a high number of jobs relative to the population of the area. This contrasts with the Tijuana part of the planning area where there is a smaller number of jobs relative to the population residing in the area. It should be noted, however, that individuals employed in the Tijuana and San Diego portions of the International Border Planning Area do not necessarily reside within the area. Table 1 provides population and employment figures for the International Border Planning Area.

Given the amount of vacant developable land in the U.S. part of the planning area and other factors, SANDAG forecasts a significant increase in employment, adding 47,737 jobs by 2020. The overall growth in employment will be 359 percent, with the most change in Services (1,137 percent); Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (833 percent); and Wholesale Trade (551 percent). These forecasts assume the implementation of smart growth strategies in the region.

The growth of Tijuana's economy has generated new employment in the maquiladora industry and in services. Particularly important has been the rapid growth of industrial jobs, doubling in less than 10 years. This has helped diversify the economy. At the same time, a high percentage of Tijuana's economically active population performs informal (18.5 percent) and semiformal economic activities (45.5 percent).

Tijuana's total population for 1995 was 1,060,068, of which 78.86 percent was considered economically active (835,970). Of these economically active people, 49.76 percent was hired and received a salary; 7.48 percent received less than one minimum wage; 31.40 percent received between one and two minimum wages; 45.31 percent made between two and five minimum wages; and the remaining 15.81 percent were employed, but did not specify the amount of income or did not receive monetary income. In early 2000, the minimum wage in Tijuana was 37.4 pesos per day.

Employment distribution for all of Tijuana in June 1997, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Data Systems (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática—INEGI), is indicated in Table 3.

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Many businesses in San Ysidro provide services for consumers from Tijuana. 2000.

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Outlet mall in San Ysidro. 2000.