Nuevo Laredo in the context of International bridges in Laredo, Texas

Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; it is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federated entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities.

It is located in northeast Mexico and is bordered by the states of Nuevo León to the west, San Luis Potosí to the southwest, and Veracruz to the southeast. To the north, it has a 370 km (230 mi) stretch of the U.S.–Mexico border with the state of Texas, and to the east it is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the capital city, Ciudad Victoria, the state's largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Tampico, and Mante.

The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 19,000 miles (about 30,000 kilometres) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. It is recognized as the longest road in the world. The highway connects 14 countries: Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

No road in the U.S. (except for Alaska) or Canada is officially designated as part of the Pan-American Highway, which officially begins at the U.S.-Mexico border in Nuevo Laredo and runs south.

The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and smaller cities of Ciudad Mante and Valle Hermoso are UAT campuses that offer undergraduate studies.

Each of the various university faculties offer graduate studies leading to the Master's or Doctorate Degree. The Faculty of Medicine of Tampico offers the professional degree of Physician & Surgeon (Medico-Cirujano) as well as post-graduate specialty certificates in: pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, family practice, and intensive care medicine. The university's "Center of Excellence" (Centro de Excelencia) sponsors specialized professional certificates and studies for the state of Tamaulipas.

The Municipality of Nuevo Laredo is located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Its municipal seat is Nuevo Laredo. The municipality contains more than 60 localities which the most important ones are Nuevo Laredo, El Campanario y Oradel, and Álvarez, the last two being suburbs of the city of Nuevo Laredo. By population, the municipality is the third largest in the state of Tamaulipas (behind Reynosa and Matamoros respectively). The Nuevo Laredo municipality is the northernmost in Tamaulipas, lying at the extreme northwestern tip of its narrow strip of land along the Río Grande. The city of Nuevo Laredo contains approximately 97.5% of the total population of the municipality.

Laredo (English pronunciation: /ləˈɹeɪdoʊ/ ; Spanish pronunciation: [laˈɾeðo] ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a village to the capital of the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the Mexican border. Laredo's economy is primarily based on international trade with Mexico, and as a major hub for three areas of transportation: land, rail, and air cargo. The city is on the southern end of I-35, which connects manufacturers in northern Mexico through Interstate 35 as a major route for trade throughout the U.S. It has four international bridges and two railway bridges.

According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 255,205, making it the 11th-most populous city in Texas and third-most populated U.S. city on the Mexican border, after San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas. Its metropolitan area is the 178th-largest in the U.S. and includes all of Webb County, with a population of 267,114. Laredo is also part of the cross-border Laredo-Nuevo Laredo metropolitan area with an estimated population of 636,516.

Laredo–Nuevo Laredo (UN/LOCODE: USLRD & MXNLD), otherwise known as the "Four-State Area" or the "Quad State Area", is one of six transborder agglomerations along the U.S.-Mexican border. The city of Laredo is situated in the U.S. state of Texas on the northern bank of the Rio Grande and Nuevo Laredo is located in the Mexican State of Tamaulipas in the southern bank of the river. This area is also known as the Two Laredos or the Laredo Borderplex. The area is made up of one county in the U.S (Webb County in Texas) and three municipalities in Mexico (Nuevo Laredo Municipality in Tamaulipas, Hidalgo Municipality in Coahuila, and Anáhuac Municipality in Nuevo León). Two urban areas (the Laredo Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Zona Metropolitana Nuevo Laredo [Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Zone]), three cities, and 12 towns make the Laredo–Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan area. The two sides of the Borderplex are connected by four International Bridges and an International Railway Bridge. The Laredo–Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan area has a total of 636,516 inhabitants according to the INEGI Census of 2010 and the United States Census estimate of 2010. According to World Gazetteer this urban agglomeration ranked 157th largest in North and South America in 2010 with an estimated population of 675,481. This area ranks 66th in the United States and 23rd in Mexico.

Federal Highway 85 (Spanish: Carretera Federal 85) connects Mexico City with the Mexico–United States border at Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Highway 85 runs through Monterrey, Nuevo León; Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas; Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí; and Pachuca, Hidalgo. It ends at the intersection of Highway 95 in the San Pedro area of Mexico City. Highway 85 is the original route of the Pan-American Highway from the border to the capital as well as the Inter-American Highway.

Through most of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, it is a freeway and is essentially a southern continuation of U.S. Interstate 35. Highway 85 has two alternate toll routes (Autopistas); both are named Carretera Federal 85D; one is from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey (123.1 kilometers MXN$177) and Pachuca to Mexico City (45.8 kilometers MXN$33). Highway 85D has wider lanes, offers a more direct route, and is continuously being repaired and repaved.