Nuevo León << noo AY voh lay OHN >> is a state in northeastern Mexico. It covers 25,067 square miles (64,924 square kilometers) and shares part of its border with the United States. Dry plains cover Nuevo León’s northern borderlands. The rugged mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental extend southward from the center of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, Nuevo León had a population of 5,784,442. The majority of the state’s people live in and around Monterrey, the capital.
Wandering indigenous (American Indian) groups inhabited what is now Nuevo León before the arrival of the Europeans. The first Europeans to settle the area, in the late 1500’s, named it after the kingdom of Leon in Spain. Nuevo León became one of Mexico’s original states in 1824. During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), it was the site of key battles between U.S. and Mexican forces. By the late 1800’s, railroads had reached Nuevo León and spurred industrial development there.
Today, Nuevo León is a leading industrial center. Important industries include the production of beer, cement, chemicals, glass, processed foods, and steel, and oil refining. Monterrey has many large corporations. Farmers in Nuevo León cultivate fruits and grains and raise cattle and poultry. The state also is home to the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, in San Nicolás de los Garza, and the Monterrey Institute of Technology. The people of Nuevo León have one of the highest standards of living in Latin America.
