Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) provide critical economic and demographic information used by decision-makers across the United States and around the world.
These regions are designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and federal agencies rely on MSA data when allocating funding for transportation, housing, workforce development, infrastructure, and economic development programs.
Now imagine if the RioPlex region were presented and measured as a single unified market.
Instead of being divided into two smaller U.S. metropolitan areas—McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Brownsville–Harlingen—while also excluding the significant industrial economy of Northern Tamaulipas, the region would emerge as a far more substantial economic player.
Investors, federal agencies, and international partners would immediately recognize a region ripe for investment. For decades, our economic strength has been fragmented across multiple jurisdictions—effectively hiding the true scale of our regional economy. RioPlex was created to present the full size and potential of this binational marketplace.
The data below illustrates where we stand today—and what stronger regional integration could mean for our national visibility and competitiveness.
• Combined GDP (McAllen–Edinburg–Mission + Brownsville–Harlingen): ~ $53 billion
• Estimated Northern Tamaulipas industrial region GDP: ~ $35 billion
• Estimated Binational RioPlex Economy: ~ $85–90 billion
• Estimated Combined Population: ~ 3.5 million
The RioPlex region is also one of the most active cross-border trade corridors in North America, connecting U.S. and Mexican manufacturing supply chains through multiple international bridges, ports of entry, and logistics hubs.
The Pharr International Bridge is one of the most important produce ports of entry in North America, handling a significant share of fresh fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico into the United States. Trade between the United States and Mexico now exceeds $800 billion annually, with Mexico serving as the United States’ largest trading partner.
This strategic location enables the region to serve as a critical gateway for nearshoring investment, linking U.S. markets to one of Mexico’s most productive manufacturing regions.
If measured as a unified binational metropolitan market, RioPlex would be comparable in economic scale to U.S. metropolitan areas such as:
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Richmond, Virginia
The United States does not officially recognize binational MSAs, so this comparison is conceptual. However, the economic and population scale of the RioPlex region is real.
In terms of population, a 3.5-million-person market would rank among the larger metropolitan regions in the United States.
The work being advanced through RioPlex complements the efforts of local economic development corporations by promoting the region as a whole and helping attract investment opportunities that benefit communities throughout South Texas and Northern Tamaulipas.
Rather than replacing local initiatives, RioPlex focuses on strengthening regional coordination and presenting the region's combined economic scale to national and international investors.
RioPlex will market the region globally as a unified economic corridor while working collaboratively with local economic development organizations to support site selection and finalize investment decisions within individual communities.
If marketed collectively and presented as a unified binational economic region:
• RioPlex would represent one of the largest population centers along the U.S.–Mexico border
• It would stand among mid-tier U.S. metropolitan economies in economic scale
• National and international visibility would increase significantly
• Competitiveness for major corporate recruitment would improve
• Positioning for federal funding and infrastructure investment would strengthen
Ultimately, success depends on three factors:
• How the message is delivered
• Who delivers the message
• Who receives the message
The information about our region is compelling. When the right message is delivered by credible voices to the right audiences, information becomes investment. Investment creates jobs, and jobs create prosperity.
We are not a small region. We have simply not presented ourselves as the region we truly are.
Over the next 10 to 15 years, RioPlex has the potential to evolve into one of the most dynamic binational economic corridors in North America.
The potential already exists. What will change our trajectory is how the region is presented to the world.
Editor’s Note: The above commentary was penned by Mario Reyna, coordinator for the Prosperity Task Force. The commentary appears in the RGG Business Journal with the permission of the author.
