Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Remittances to Quintana Roo reached a record high in 2025, totaling $383.6 million, as a wave of labor migration to the United States continued to reshape the state’s economy, according to data from the Bank of Mexico.
In the first quarter of 2026 alone, $100.4 million flowed into the state, nearly matching the quarterly average before the pandemic. Between 2019 and early 2020, Quintana Roo received less than $44 million per quarter, as most workers found employment in the tourism sector.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended that dynamic. Hotel and restaurant closures devastated local incomes, particularly in rural areas far from major resorts. Many Quintana Roo residents migrated to the U.S. in search of work, and remittances jumped nearly 200% between the first and second quarters of 2020, from about $44 million to over $90 million. The upward trend has continued ever since.
Despite the surge, Quintana Roo still ranks second-to-last among Mexican states in remittance receipts, ahead of only Campeche. Neighboring Yucatán receives higher amounts.
Jany Javier Rivera Pereda, manager of the state-owned financial institution Financiera para el Bienestar (Finabien) in Chetumal, said the agency has become a key channel for remittances due to low fees and broad coverage. “Six months ago, Profeco ranked us as the most affordable remittance service in the country,” he said.
Finabien operates 26 branches across Quintana Roo, including in Chetumal, Mahahual, Xcalak, José María Morelos, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Cozumel, and Isla Mujeres.
Rivera Pereda noted that demand for remittance services continues to grow, especially in communities with family members working in the U.S. Studies by the Inter-American Development Bank show that Latin American migrants send between $131 and $648 per month to their families, representing 6% to 23% of their income.
While Quintana Roo’s tourism economy has recovered from the pandemic, experts say the labor migration trend has left a lasting mark on the state.
