Hidalgo is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

in central

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

divided into 84

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

. According to the 2020 Mexican

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Hidalgo is the 16th most populous state with inhabitants and the 26th largest by land area spanning . Municipalities in Hidalgo are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917

Constitution of Mexico The Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States ( es, Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in th ...

. Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: ''presidente municipal'') by a

plurality voting Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality (voting), plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects j ...

system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (''ayuntamiento'') responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of a variable number of trustees and councillors (''regidores y síndicos''). Municipalities are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, and the maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries. They may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks. Since 1984, they have had the power to collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own income. The largest municipality by population in Hidalgo is

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whi ...

, with 314,331 residents, and the smallest is Eloxochitlán with 2,593 residents. The largest municipality by area in Hidalgo is

Zimapán Zimapán ( Otomi: Mabo̱za) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of . The name Zimapán derives from the Nahuatl words "cimatl", meaning "cimate" (a root used to ferment ...

, which spans , while

Tlahuelilpan Tlahuelilpan (; nah, Tlaualilpan, lit=place where the lands are irrigated) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in th ...

is the smallest at . The first municipality to incorporate was Huichapan on , and the newest municipality is

Progreso de Obregón Progresso (officially: Progreso de Obregón) is a community and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North ...

which incorporated .

Municipalities

File:Vista de Pachuca, Hidalgo, México, 2013-10-10, DD 01.JPG, alt=Downtown Pachuca,

Pachuca de Soto Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

, Hidalgo's capital and largest municipality by population. File:Vallepachuca.jpg, alt=Valley of Pachuca, Mineral de la Reforma is the second largest municipality by population File:Tulancingo3.jpg, alt=Areal view of downtown Tulancingo de Bravo, Tulancingo de Bravo is the third largest municipality by population

References

{{Portal bar, Mexico Hidalgo