Tijuana is part of at least one metropolitan area.
Tijuana ( [ tiːˈwɑːnə ] ; [ tiˈxwana ] ) is the largest city in Baja California and on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area , part of the international San Diego -- Tijuana metropolitan area . As the city has become a leading center in the country , so has the surrounding metropolitan area , a major industrial and paramount metropolis in northwestern Mexico . Currently one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Mexico , Tijuana maintains global city status . The international metropolitan region was estimated to be just over five million in 2009 and about 5,105,769 in 2010 , making it the third largest metropolitan area in the former Californias region , 19th largest metropolitan area in the Americas , and the largest bi-national conurbation that is shared between US and Mexico . The Tijuana metropolitan area , and in Spanish the Zona Metropolitana de Tijuana , is located on the Pacific Ocean in Mexico .