Cities of Baja California
The economy of San Felipe
A town on the Sea of Cortez in eastern Baja California, San Felipe lives on tourism, US snowbirds, and small-scale fishing, and it became its own municipality in 2020.
Every March it hosts the San Felipe 250, the opening round of the SCORE off-road racing championship.
Sea of Cortezthe economic engine: tourism built around the Gulf of California, US snowbirds, and second-home owners
San Felipe 250host of the season-opening SCORE off-road race, run each March
Shrimpa small-scale fishing fleet, with shrimp the signature catch
General municipal, SCORE International, and tourism sources. Qualitative; no official population or GDP figure is asserted here.
A tourism town on the Gulf
- The economy is led by tourism. San Felipe sits on the Sea of Cortez, the Gulf of California, and draws US visitors, seasonal snowbirds, and second-home owners who anchor much of the local spending, hospitality, and services base.
- Small-scale fishing is the other pillar. A modest local fleet works the Gulf, with shrimp the signature catch, tying the town to the wider Baja California seafood economy.
- A young municipality. Long administered from elsewhere, San Felipe became its own municipality in 2020, giving the town more direct say over local development and services.
- Where it is headed. Growth still tracks the same drivers, cross-border tourism and the second-home market, with the annual race weekend as a recurring seasonal boost; steadier fishing and better local governance as a new municipality are the levers for a more resilient base.
Race weekend on the calendar
- The San Felipe 250 opens the SCORE season. Run each March, it is the first round of the SCORE off-road racing championship, and the influx of teams, crews, and spectators is a fixed point on the town's tourism calendar.
- An official voice. The town's public information and services are published by the municipal government, San Felipe.