The municipality is considered to have a medium level of socioeconomic marginalization. As of 2000, there were 61,444 residences, of which over 72% were the property of the residents. The average household size was 4.36 inhabitants. About one quarter of the homes have dirt floors, thirteen percent have wood floors and about sixty two with cement or stone floors. Walls generally consist of cement block with about fourteen percent having wood walls. About sixty percent of the roofs are made with metal/asbestos laminate.
Tapachula accounts for much of Chiapas� economic activities as the economic center of the Soconusco economic region and as a port for commerce between Mexico and Central America. Hurricane Stan severely damaged the rail line through here connecting Oaxaca and Chiapas with Guatemala, with repairs still ongoing as of 2011.
The first Feria Internacional Tapachula was held in 1963 with the name of Primera Gran Exposici�n Agr�cola, Ganadera, Comercial e Industrial del Soconusco. It has been held yearly since then with participants from the region, the state of Chiapas, Mexico and other countries. The purpose of the fair is to promote the products of the region along with its cultural heritage.
About eighteen percent of the working population works in agriculture and livestock. About twenty three percent of these workers are not paid a salary. About sixteen and a half percent work in mining and manufacturing. The municipality is part of a region dedicated to the growing and export of cash crops, especially coffee and tropical fruit. The harvest cycles, along with the usual boom and bust economic cycles associated with such farming has spurred a worker migration pattern which has been studied.
About 63% of the municipality�s workforce is in commerce and services, well above the averages for the region and the state. This sector includes tourism. The city�s main attractions are in and around its main square called the Parque Miguel
